


Working Title: Circus

by Goose_Goddess



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goose_Goddess/pseuds/Goose_Goddess
Summary: The Circus AU no one asked for.Peter's from a long line of aerialists, but even though he doesn't have his Spidey powers in this story, he sure does have that dratted Parker Luck. Good thing Wade's there to help him.
Relationships: Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Comments: 27
Kudos: 148





	1. Tony

Tony sighed as the last box was stored away in the storage barn. Everyone had gotten unpacked, all the animals were in their winter cages or stalls, and for once the weather had cooperated. Even though November was supposed to be the least rainy month here, it always seemed to rain when they arrived and unpacked. This year it was warm and sunny. And after spending the end of November traveling through the Midwest, he really wanted to be somewhere warm.

“Okay. Everything is taken care of.” Pepper walked up to him carrying her clipboard. Tony wondered if she slept with the thing in her hand. He mentally shrugged. To be honest, he didn’t care if she wore it as a hat. Without her and that clipboard, they would be in serious trouble. He had no illusion that the reason they did as well as they had been was thanks to her organization.

“Good. What’s up next?” Tony asked. 

Pepper glanced over her clipboard. “Several of the performers are heading out to see family. Thor asked to leave later, so he and Wade will cover all the animals. I’ll follow up tomorrow with Fury and some other contacts and see if anyone is looking for a new group; hopefully we can find some new acts before spring.”

“So the Smith’s really are leaving?” Tony asked. He’d been hoping after a brief rest, they’d decide to stay with the circus.

Pepper nodded. “They’ve decided that they have had enough traveling.”

Tony groaned. “So we’re down three acts.”

“And four sideshows, as well as having lost our additional animal hand.” Pepper confirmed.

“Great. Well, sideshows should be relatively easy to find and fill; and Fury may even have some more of his rescues for us.” Tony said. “But the acts are a bigger problem. And finding a handler that Thor approves of might take a while.” 

Pepper nodded. “That’s why we’re going to start early and see what we can find. On the plus side, everyone knows this is a good place to work.”

Tony smiled. “Provided they aren’t expecting to steal or grift.” They’d lost one act earlier because the performers were caught pulling cons on people in town. Tony (actually Pepper) had convinced the officials that the circus was not responsible, and they were going to cut the performers loose. But losing the act had made the last few weeks really tough for the team. Short acts, the other artists had to perform longer and more frequently. He was pretty sure that was the reason the Smiths had decided they didn’t want to travel any longer. This time he wanted enough acts that he could allow artists to take a break. Or at least a breath.

“Okay. Tomorrow we get the word out, and everyone has a chance to rest and recover.” 

******

People think of a circus as being a nighttime entertainment and assume that as a result the staff sleeps until noon. But in actuality, the staff started waking up when the sun rose. The animals needed to be fed and watered. The crew needed to eat. The equipment needed to be repaired. Acts needed to be perfected. And all of that had to be done when the public wasn’t around to watch. 

At winter quarters, it was even more so. All the work that had to wait during traveling season needed to be tackled. Everything had to be taken apart and repaired. New acts needed to be put together and practiced until they could be performed flawlessly. Costumes needed to be designed and created. Animals needed to be trained and exercised.

For the first month, though, the focus was on repairing the staff. Other than the care and feeding of the animals, anything that wasn’t an emergency was put off. Many people traveled to see family or friends. Others slept or just took a break to recover from the exhaustion they had been living with. For eight months of the year they traveled, moving sometimes every other day. For four months, though, they got to stay in one place and recover. Tony insisted on it. They’d had offers before to perform during the off season, but he knew his team needed the break.

“Okay! Listen up!” Tony yelled, standing up on his bench, and instantly drawing everyone’s attention. “Today’s schedule’s posted. There are no times in the rings, and other than the basic chores, you can relax. If you are planning on being gone, make sure Pepper or I know so we can adjust work schedules and don’t end up with food for five hundred when there are only five here.” 

The group laughed good naturally.

“It’s been a tough year, and the last few weeks have been really bad. You guys pulled through, and we all survived. Take the next month and rest up. Banner is here for the next few weeks, so any injuries stop by and see him. I don’t want to find out you ignored something small and let it get big. We’ve got time right now, lets use it to make sure we’re all healthy.”

Tony read off the rest of the roster, then sighed. Expecting to be dismissed, the crowd watched him nervously. “One last thing. As you know, we’re down a few acts. Anyone who knows of someone looking to change, let us know. I want to make sure next year we have enough performers that you all have time to breathe. You know what acts we have, and we don’t want duplicates. But ask around and let us know about any leads.” Tony grinned. “We’ve got time, and I know we’ll find some outstanding performers. Okay, guys, let’s get to work.”

He hopped off the bench and grabbed a last biscuit before heading over to his office, Pepper hot on his heels with more papers to look at and take care of. 

“Okay! What’s on the agenda for today?” He asked, collapsing at his desk and finally paying attention to the woman.

“Two of our trucks are still down, and the usual maintenance on the tents. All of that can wait until after the break. Thor asked for two weeks off, but Wade can cover for him while he’s gone. We need to put out the word that we’re low on sideshow and game options.”

Tony snorted. “It’ll work out. It always does. We’ll find someone. Locals can handle sideshows and games if need be.”

“I can help you there, possibly.” Fury’s voice came from behind and Tony spun in his chair in surprise.

“I swear. I am going to get an actual office with walls.” Tony yelped. “I am tired of people sneaking up on me.”

Fury simply stared at him. He was a tall, well built black man wearing a serious expression and an eyepatch. Next to him was a young man, with a shock of dark brunette hair. He wasn’t that tall, and very slim. He looked young, Tony would have guessed 17.

“Who’s your friend.” Pepper asked.

Fury glanced at the young man at his side. “This is Peter. Peter Parker.”

Tony’s eyes sharpened. “Of the Flying Parkers?”

Fury nodded. “Pepper, why don’t you get Peter something to eat, while I talk to Tony. We hit the road early and he's probably hungry.”

Pepper glanced at Tony, then smiled at Peter. “Sure thing. Hi Peter, I’m Pepper.” She held out her hand, and he shook it nervously, glancing at Fury.

Fury cleared his throat. “He’s a little shy, and he doesn’t talk.” He said quietly. 

Pepper smiled at Peter. “Nothing wrong with that. I hear too much babble as it is working with this bunch. Quiet will make a nice change.” She led him off, Peter following her nervously.

“So why is a member of a world class circus act showing up in a maybe B Tier circus?” Tony asked.

Fury snorted. “You’re only B Tier because you insist on doing things your way and don’t take advantage of either your audiences or your performers. Your acts are some of the best in the world and you know it.”

Tony laughed. “Fair. But the question still stands. Why is he here?”

Fury sighed. “Same story as all the rest of you, I guess.”

Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “Got sick of his father’s politics and ran away to start a circus?”

Fury glared at him. “Not you, fool. The rest of your crew. You have to have heard about the… misfortunes that family had.”

Tony frowned thoughtfully. “There was an accident a long time ago, a couple performers were killed.”

Fury nodded. “Those were Peter’s parents. He was about 4 at the time. His aunt and uncle took him in. He grew up as part of their act. He’s been an aerialist since he could walk.” Fury gazed off into the distance. “Then there was another accident, and his uncle died. He and his aunt were the only ones left. They gradually moved down from top tier to… well. Let’s just say they ended up at Hydra.”

Tony groaned. “Really?”

Fury looked at him. “His aunt died two years ago. He doesn’t look it, but he’s 21. A friend told me about him, and I went looking.”

Tony snorted. “Meaning you bulled your way in where you didn’t belong.”

Fury glared. “They had him locked in a stall when I got there, Tony. He wouldn’t talk and wouldn’t perform, so they’d given him to one thug as a pet. Based on his behavior, he’s been abused for a long time. I wish I’d gotten to him sooner, but…”

Tony finished for him. “But you didn’t know he was there.”

Fury nodded. “He needs a place to hide. He could be a great addition to your team. But he’s going to need a lot of help to recover. Right now, he’s terrified of everyone. He hasn’t said a word since his uncle died. And…” He looked at Tony.

Tony nodded. “No worries. We can fit him in. And as Pepper said, we’ve got a noisy crew. Quiet might be nice for a change.” He laughed. “He got any other skills?”

Fury nodded. “He’s good with animals. They had him working with the horses, when he wasn’t locked up.”

“And does Hydra know he’s switched circuses?” Tony asked.

Fury laughed. “I’m sure they know he’s gone. But they won’t know where. And since he was basically just good for cleaning up the stalls, I doubt they’ll look for him.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll talk to Pepper. But I suspect the best plan is to put him with Thor. With Loki gone again, he’s got room and he can use the help with the animals. The others don’t mind helping with the horses, but you know Thor is really picky about who helps with the horses. If he’s good with them, that’ll mean one more person I can add to the roster without having a furious wall of muscle shouting at me about his precious animals.”

“Great. Well, I’ll go say goodbye to him and let him know that he’ll be staying here.” Fury turned and strode off toward the food tent.

Tony sighed and watched him walk off. The man walked up to Pepper and Peter and spoke briefly. Tony could see the boy’s back stiffen, and when Fury attempted to clasp his shoulder, Peter flinched away. Great. Clearly abused. Of course, since it was Hydra he’d ended up at, there was no doubt he had been abused. Hydra was the lowest of the low. The absolute pit of the circus world. No one ended up there if they had any choice. If anyone could handle him, Pepper could. Tony turned to his papers and tried to figure out how they were going to either replace or repair two trucks before the month ended.


	2. Wade

Wade was out in one of the outdoor rings, lungeing one of the horses. Thor had given them a week off of training, but a few still needed exercise to make sure they didn’t act up in the stable.

“Hey, Wade.” 

Wade glanced over to see Tony and Pepper leaning over the fence surrounding the ring. He stopped the horse and collected the line, walking the animal over to the pair. “Hey boss man. What’s up?”

“We have a bit of a… situation.” Tony said, reaching out and stroking the horse’s nose.

Wade raised his eyebrow. Or what would have been his eyebrows if it wasn’t for the severe scar damage to his face.

“Fury came by today with another of his rescues.” Tony said. “Cute kid. He’s got some experience with animals, so we thought he could help Thor out since Loki left. But..” He glanced over at Pepper.

Pepper shrugged, confused. “I’m still not sure what happened. He was really shy, but…” She shook her head. “I called over Thor, he said ‘Hi’ and held out his hand, and Peter bolted.”

Wade frowned. “Why on earth would he do that? Thor’s a teddy bear.”

Tony nodded. “Fury found him at Hydra. He’s a little… nervous.”

Wade sighed and looked at Tony. “Wait… he’s been working with the animals at Hydra?”

“Yeah. That’s what Fury said.”

Wade nodded. “Well, their animal handler is a huge blonde giant of a man. And unlike Thor, he doesn’t train with kindness. He’s definitely not nice to his animals. And I highly doubt he treats his assistants any better.”

Pepper’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh!”

Tony groaned. “Kid must have thought we were turning him over to another monster.”

“Where is he now?” Wade asked.

“We think he’s still in the stable,” Tony answered. “I was hoping you could find him for us. I was going to put him in Thor’s trailer, but I’m not sure that’s the best approach at this point.”

“No. Probably not. Let me see what’s what. But I don’t think just getting him is the solution. Let me handle this.” Wade said.

“But” Pepper said.

Wade shook his head. “If he’s as terrified as I think he is, we need to treat him like a wild animal and get him to trust us. Give me a week.”

“A week? We can’t leave him living in a barn for a week.” Pepper protested.

Wade shrugged. “Thor and I have slept in the barn more than once. And the first thing I’m going to do is start leaving food around so he doesn’t starve.”

Pepper looked like she wanted to protest more, but she’d already spent over an hour trying to find Peter and had had no luck. 

“Fine. One week. But then I’m trying again.” She said.

Wade watched as Tony led Pepper off. Then he patted the mare at his side “Well Hon, think it’s time to put you back in your stall and see what’s what.” He opened the gate in the ring and led the mare out, calling a big black dog over as he closed the gate behind them.

The three made their way back to the barn. Wade glanced down and noticed the hair on the back of the dog’s neck starting to rise as they passed the tack room door. He glanced up quickly and just saw the edge of a shoe disappearing into the hayloft. He quickly gave the dog a hand sign, and the dog was back to a friendly giant.

Wade put the mare into the crossties, then walked into the tack room to grab brushes, with the dog close by his heels. “Well, Colossus, looks like we need to clean up a bit in here.” He pulled open a box. “At least all the blankets are clean. But someone nearly cleared out our snack stash. Nothing left in here but protein bars and apples. I’ll have to get some refills this evening or we’ll have nothing to eat when we’re stuck in here.” 

He pulled open a small refrigerator. “At least the fridge is full of water bottles. Oh! And Pepper must have been by since there’s a ton of hummus and cut vegetables. Let me tell you, pup, this is the place to work. They keep us well stocked with food and they never ask questions when it’s gone, they just fill the fridge back up. Now if I could only convince Pepper that we should have a constant supply of pizza.” He shut the door of the fridge.

The dog woofed at him and poked his nose into the boxes he was looking through.

“Not that I mind being stuck in here. The cot’s not too bad, and there are more than enough blankets in here. And the weather down here is nice. Now if we were trying to sleep in a barn up north in late November…” He pretended to shiver, then grabbed the brushes and headed back to the mare. 

He brushed the mare, talking to her and to the dog constantly, covering everything from his favorite pizza toppings to what super power he’d like to have.

Halfway through brushing, he heard a sound from the tack room, but he made a point of keeping his back to the area. Colossus wandered into the tack room, but he had already told the dog Peter was a friend, so Wade pretended he didn’t notice. 

A few minutes later he heard the fridge open, and then the faint sounds of someone climbing back into the hayloft and Colossus wandered back out to collapse next to Wade.

Wade grinned at the dog, then patted the mare’s shoulder. “Well, young lady, you’re all set to go. I’m going to head out and grab a few more snacks to keep in here and make sure the crew remembers that we’re back and need to keep this area stocked.” He led the mare back to her stall and put her up before heading out of the barn, followed by the dog.

He did speak to the food crew, letting them know there was an extra stable hand and warning them to pretend they didn’t know about Peter. He also checked in with Tony and Pepper, explaining that he’d made sure that Peter knew he could get food and water, and where to find a bed and blankets.

Pepper still seemed to think the best approach was to hunt the boy down, but Tony agreed with Wade. “He’s not the first abuse victim we’ve had here.” Tony pointed out. “And Wade’s got enough experience on his own to know what will and what won’t work. He will not starve, and it’s not cold, so he won’t freeze. There’s a bathroom in the barn, so about the only thing he might not get to do is shower or change clothes. Give him some time.”


	3. Peter

When Fury and the new woman had led him into the barn, Peter was starting to think things were finally starting to go right for him. The barn was neat and clean, and the animals all looked healthy and happy. 

Fury had to nearly pull him out of the locked stall Skip kept him in when he wasn’t cleaning stalls or doing any of the other jobs they came up for him. But Fury had bullied him into the car, then talked to him all the way here, promising that this place was better and that no one would hurt him. So far it looked like he was right.

And then Skip had walked out and grinned at him, and he couldn’t breathe. He had to get away. He’d finally thought he was free and here was Skip again. 

He didn’t even remember running away. He came back to himself later in the hayloft while the pretty lady (Pepper?) was calling his name. Fury was gone, and so was the huge blonde guy. He realized now it hadn’t been Skip, but…

He thought about climbing down, but realized that there was no way they were going to put up with him now. Just like at Hydra, he was too much work. Couldn’t talk. Too scared to walk the tightrope. And too many scars to be attractive. They’d throw him away in a minute. He curled up in a ball behind a hay bale and stayed quiet.

After a while, the woman left, and it was just him and the animals. He finally got up enough courage to uncurl and investigate the barn. There was a ladder that led down into the tack room / office near the front of the barn. He climbed down and looked around. Besides the usual saddles, bridles, blankets and leather care supplies, there was a small desk, a cot, a shelf of easy to eat items like apples and protein bars, and a small fridge full of water bottles. He hesitated, not sure if anyone would notice if he took something. Then he grabbed a bottle of water and a protein bar, and a blanket. He was debating taking some more food, not sure if they’d notice, when he heard someone walking.

He backed up to the ladder quietly, trying to figure out the best way to get up the ladder with all his supplies, and without making any noise.

He could hear someone walking through the barn door, and the sound of hooves. He carefully put everything down on the desk and scrambled back up into the loft.

He inched over to the edge of the loft, so he could see down into the barn. A man was in the barn was talking to a horse and an enormous black dog. The animals both seemed happy and replied occasionally with woofs or nickers.

The man was enormous. His shoulders were broad, his arms and legs heavily muscled. But he moved gracefully and treated the animals with gentleness. 

Most of his skin was covered, sleeves draped over his hands, a hood pulled up over his head. Then he slid under the horse’s head to brush her other side, and she tugged his hood off. He laughed as he rubbed her ears.

With his head uncovered, Peter realized why he kept his skin covered. He was badly burned; his face and head completely covered in scar tissue. It was odd, but not scary or horrifying with the way he kept smiling at the animals, and Peter could tell he was really smiling by the way his eyes crinkled up too.

Peter had been half listening to the man’s conversation, then he realized what the man was saying. He was explaining how no one would notice if he took the food, or the blankets. 

_He must know I’m up here._ For a minute Peter felt panic. Then he realized, even if the man knew he was up here, he was making it very clear that he was okay with it. And Peter really was hungry. He couldn’t bring himself to eat anything when the pretty lady had taken him to the food tent. There were too many people around. 

He crawled back to the ladder and climbed down slowly. He tucked a bottle of water into his waistband and stuffed a protein bar into his pocket. He was just picking up the blanket when the big black dog walked in. He froze, sure it was going to bark and give him away. Maybe the man would pretend he wasn’t here, but there’s no way they’d ignore the barking dog.

The big dog walked over and pushed his head under Peter’s hand, demanding pets.

Stunned, Peter stroked the dog’s head and scratched his ears. Then the dog licked his hand and walked out.

Peter draped the blanket over his shoulder and quickly climbed the ladder. He made himself a nest near the edge of the loft and curled up and ate his protein bar. He listened to the big man talking and eventually fell asleep.

*******

Over the next few days, Peter found out that the big man was in the barn a lot, sometimes with the dog, sometimes alone. But he was always talking. He talked to the horses. He talked to the dog. Sometimes he talked to himself. He even talked to the equipment when it was giving him trouble. Peter found his voice soothing. He always seemed calm and cheerful, no matter what was going on. Cleaning stalls, arguing with a horse who didn’t want to lift her hoof, repairing a blanket that had gotten torn. 

Sometimes the big blonde man was in the barn, too. He seemed to be in charge of the horses, while the burned man was his assistant. The blonde man was nothing like Skip, other than the hair color and being big. The blonde man had an odd accent when he talked. And even though he always talked loudly, Peter saw that it was just him being enthusiastic. The animals never flinched away from him and always moved towards him.

Sometimes other people came in; adding food, cleaning up things. As the burned man had predicted, they just added food and water, and took the garbage away. They never commented on the missing food.

He still didn’t know anyone’s names. The burned man never seemed to call anyone by their name. He called the blonde man ‘boss man’ or ‘big guy’. When the pretty lady came in, he called her ‘boss lady’ or ‘superwoman’. He called the horses a variety of things, but _their_ names were all on the stall doors. Though Peter wasn’t sure how to pronounce them. They had lots of letters with accent marks. 

When no one was in the barn, or at night when he got lonely, he’d climb down and visit with the horses. They all seemed nice, but his favorites were a big gray mare, and her foal. Between them and the burned man, he felt safe in the barn.


	4. Tony

“It’s been three days.” Pepper’s arms were folded tightly across her chest, and she looked very upset.

Tony sighed. “Wade says he’s eating and drinking, and is doing fine.”

“But he’s still in the barn. And no one has seen him this whole time. How do we know he’s okay?” Pepper insisted. “We need to send someone up into the loft to get him.”

Tony shook his head. “We promised Wade a week. It’s only three more days. And if he’s eating, he won’t starve. And it’s not cold enough to worry about him freezing to death.”

Pepper threw her arms up in exasperation. “But he’s just a kid. He doesn’t deserve to be stuck in a barn.”

“He’s not. He can come down any time he wants. But he’s not ready yet. What he needs is enough time to see we’re good people.”

“But how is he ever going to see that in that barn? The only person he sees is Wade. And Wade is not the best example of sanity around.”

“But Wade _is_ the best example of a caring person. He loves those animals, and it shows every time he’s with them. And maybe if he loves animals, maybe he’ll treat people well too. What Peter knows is monsters who hurt animals and hurt people. Wade would never hurt one of those horses, no matter what.”

Pepper’s shoulders slumped. “It’s just so hard, knowing he’s out there and we can’t help.”

Tony stood up and clapped her on the shoulder. “And that’s what’s going to win him over, the fact that we all care. But it’s going to take some time. He’s been hurt, a lot. We need to give him time.”

Pepper sighed. “Okay. You’re right.”

“Now, how about we go find Wade and get you an update on how the boy is doing.”

Pepper grinned. “Okay. That’s an idea I like.”

Wade was in the ring helping Thor with the dogs, but he jogged over to see them when they entered the ring. “Hey boss man, what’s up?”

Tony nodded at Pepper. “Pepper wants an update on our stowaway. Any news for her?”

Wade grinned. “I saw him this morning. We headed over to the barn a little early, and I saw the cutie all curled up under a blanket on the cot, one of the barn cats curled up next to him.”

“Did he run away?” Tony asked curiously.

“Naw. Cutie didn’t even know I was there, he was out cold. I just got to work and heard him sneak up the ladder a while later.”

“How is he?” Pepper asked.

Wade shrugged. “From what I can see, he’s eating regularly. I’ve been making sure that there’s more around to eat than just protein bars and apples. He seems to like those cheese crackers and pizza, but then who doesn’t like pizza? It’s really one of the most perfect foods around. And we added milk and fruit juice to the fridge, so it’s not just water.”

Pepper nodded. “Okay. Okay. That’s good. You’ll let me know right away if there’s anything I can do or anything he needs.”

Wade pulled his hood back and smiled at her. “I will. I promise. But what he needs the most right now is some time. I know he has nightmares, and I’m pretty sure he’s had a few panic attacks. I am not sure what exactly he went through, but I know that right now he’s terrified of people.” He shrugged. “We need to show him we’re good people.”

“That’s what Tony said.” Pepper frowned.

“This isn’t the first time Tony’s had to deal with someone like this.” Wade said. “When I got here, I was in awful shape. After this…” he waved at his face “no one wanted to be near me. Tony made me realize that for real friends, this isn’t a problem. He saw me and not this mess, and that gave me the courage to trust the other people here.”

“And Wade wasn’t the only one.” Tony said. “Between Fury’s rescues and the fact that so many people who work in circuses are the ones that don’t fit anywhere else, we’ve had everything from women escaping abusive husbands to PTSD victims.”

Pepper nodded. “Okay. So I’ll trust the two of you and give him time.”

Wade smiled at her again. “I know it’s hard. You’re the kind that always wants to fix things, and this time there is nothing you can do. Waiting is always hard and trusting someone else to do things is tough.”

Pepper grinned at him sadly. “Yeah, you’re right. I do trust you, it’s just…”

“It’s just that you want to do something.” Tony said. 

Pepper laughed. “I’m not exactly the kind to just sit back, am I.”

“Not so much.” Tony smiled. “But we appreciate that. Sometimes you’re the only thing keeping this fleabag of a circus afloat.”

Wade waved back at them and jogged back to the ring and his dogs.

“Okay. So. Now that you’re good on the Stowaway project, let’s get back to the office and tackle some paperwork.” Tony said, taking her arm and leading the way out of the building.

Pepper snorted in laughter. “Wow. You must be really worried about me if you are asking to do paperwork. I’ll be fine. I’ll be better when he’s rejoined the human race, but until then I trust you and Wade that we’re doing the right thing. I am going to make sure they’re putting better food in that tack room than cheese crackers and protein bars, though.”

“Of course you are. Peanut butter sandwiches and celery sticks were always my favorites when I was hanging out in my tree house.”

“That sounds good. Sandwiches hold up well, and if they just bring out a new plate every afternoon. Or maybe some baked chicken…” Her voice went silent, and Tony smiled to himself. She really did need to do something. Having something to focus on, like making sure the kid had decent food to eat, would help her make it easier to put up with the wait.


	5. Wade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late--completely forgot yesterday!

It was two more days before Wade met Peter. Wade had come into the stable first thing in the morning for his usual morning check. He was making his way down the aisle, making sure all the stalls were clean, and water buckets were full when he spotted the legs beneath Grani’s belly. “Well, there Grani. Trying to live up to Sleipnir’s reputation, I see. But you’ve only got six legs there. Need two more if you’re going to pass for Odin’s mount.” 

A head of very messy hair appeared, and brown eyes peered at Wade over the horse’s back. Wade smiled at him. “Hi there. You must be Peter, the new guy. Pepper said you’re good with animals. And if Grani here likes you, you must be okay. She’s pretty picky. I’m Wade. I help Thor out with the animals, there’s too many of them for him to handle alone.” He noted Peter flinched at the name Thor and decided to avoid that name again. “So, since you’re good with animals and these guys seem to like you, maybe you can help me out. I have to finish up here, then take care of the other animals. Did you have some breakfast? Didn’t see you there. Come to think of it, haven’t seen you at any of the meals. Are you hungry?” Wade paused and looked at him.

The boy looked a little shocked at the sheer number of words pouring over him, but he hadn’t run, so Wade figured he was doing okay.

Wade laughed. “Yeah. So you’ve noticed one of my major faults. I talk. A lot. It’s one reason I love working with the animals. They don’t care how much I talk. So I talk to them. The other thing is that they don’t care about my face.” He waved a hand at his face. “Fire, you know, but people take one look at this mess and assume I’m evil or stupid. Why does ugly equal either? They also assume pretty girls are stupid, so why is ugly stupid? Doesn’t make any sense. But you never did tell me. You hungry?”

Peter just looked at him, then shrugged when Wade stayed quiet.

“Wait.” Wade scratched his head. “Tony said something about this.” His face lit up. “That’s it! He said you don’t talk. Okay. You can hear though, right?” He tilted his head to one side and looked at Peter curiously.

Peter nodded slowly.

“Great! So. Are you hungry?” Wade asked, keeping his voice casual.

Peter nodded, then shook his head.

“Okay, that’s not very clear.” Wade said.

Peter pointed to Wade and held up one finger, then shrugged. Then he pointed to the door and held up all his fingers, shaking his head violently.

“Too many people?” Wade guessed. 

Peter nodded. He was stroking the horse nervously and kept looking away from Wade.

“Hmm. Okay. How about this? You help me out with the animals, and I’ll bring you meals, until you get used to us. Sound good?” 

Peter nodded slowly.

“Awesome.” Wade said. “Now, do you know how to clean a stall?”

Peter nodded again, looking a little more confident.

“Great. You take care of Grani’s stall here, make sure the water bucket’s clean and full, and the hay net. I’ll go at grab some food for you now, then we’ll finish up together. Sound good?”

Peter smiled hesitantly and nodded, then ducked under the big gray’s neck and reached out for the fork. Wade grinned at him and handed it over, then ducked out of the stall. He heard Peter cluck at the horse and she nickered back. 

He stepped out of the stable into the early morning light. They had actual buildings for the animals in their winter quarters; it was a pleasant change from the drafty billowing tents they used while traveling. Of course, their animals were all used to the travel conditions, but it was still nice to have solid walls that blocked out the wind.

He spotted Tony and Pepper in Tony’s “office”, arguing over something. He needed to get Peter something to eat. The kid was still too thin. But he also needed to make sure Tony was aware of what was going on. He dashed over quickly “hey, sorry to interrupt, but I met your kid.”

Tony looked at him blankly. “My kid? What kid?”

Pepper looked frantic. “Peter’s out of the loft? He let you see him? Where is he?”

“He’s in the stables. Was hiding in Grani’s stall. I offered to bring him breakfast if he helps me out in the barn.”

Pepper turned and headed towards the stable. Wade grabbed her arm. “Wait. He’s terrified. He seems okay with me, but he refuses to leave the stable. Too many people. We don’t want to scare him right back into the loft.”

Pepper’s shoulder’s slumped. “More waiting?”

Wade shrugged. “He seems okay for the moment. Just a little shy. Okay, a lot shy. Okay, actually, terrified. I’ll keep you updated, okay?”

Pepper nodded frantically. “Yes. Please. And be sure to tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Wade nodded. “Will do.”

He talked the cooking crew into making him a few breakfast sandwiches and grabbed a mug of cider before heading back into the stables.

“Well, I am back my beauties” He announced as he walked in. Several of the horses nickered at him. “And I brought you breakfast, baby boy. Why don’t you come out here and sit while I finish in there?” Wade peered over the half door to Grani’s stall. But it was already spotless, and Grani was tucking into a filled hay bag.

“Well sweetie, I see you’re already taken care of. Where’d our little mouse go, though?” Wade asked. The mare didn’t even look over at him. Wade laughed. “Yes, I see where I rate in your world. As long as your room is clean and your feed bag is full, you have no need of me.” He turned and glanced around the stable. “Okay, Petey, where are you? I have your breakfast and it’s much better warm.” 

Peter stepped out of the next stall over, followed closely by two heads—the mare and her foal. He smiled hesitantly at Wade while stroking the nose of the foal.

“I see you’ve met Glad and Gyllir. One of our jobs is working with Gyllir and getting him used to people. Looks like he likes you.” Wade grinned at the sight of the foal poking his nose all around Peter, looking for treats. “We’ll have to make sure you keep your pockets filled with treats for them. Now. You sit here and eat and I’ll get going on the other stalls.” 

Peter walked over slowly and sat on the trunk Wade indicated. Then accepted the sandwiches and mug Wade handed him. Wade grinned and took the fork and headed off to the next stall.

“We just do spot cleaning with breakfast. When Thor has them out the stalls get completely cleaned. We won’t be doing that, though, as we’ll have plenty to do helping Thor out in the ring.” Wade glanced over the wall at Peter. “That is, if you’re up to it? Thor is pretty picky about who works with his animals. He’s pretty loud, but he’s really a sweetheart. Unless you hurt one of his animals.”

Wade continued cleaning the stalls, telling Peter random facts about the other members of the crew, amusing stories about the different horses, and funny stories from while they were on the road. When he finished, Peter stood up and walked over, holding his hand out for the pitchfork. 

Wade waved him off. “Tell you what, I’ll do the dirty work, you fill the buckets and hay nets. Sound good?”

Peter shrugged, then nodded his head and grabbed the bucket Wade handed him. The two finished quickly. Wade continued his random stories and comments, occasionally adding comments or complaints to the horses as they went.

When they finished, Wade put the fork back where it belonged and smiled at Peter. “Okay. Easy bunch is over. Next, I help Thor out with the dogs. Even though the crew has time off, the dogs do better if they work every day. You game?”

Peter shrugged, clearly nervous. But he squared his shoulders and nodded.

Wade nodded, looking serious. “Okay, for real, if it’s too much for you, just say so. Thor takes a bit of getting used to, so if you’re not up to dealing with him yet, you can stick to working in here and leaving the dogs to me.”

Peter nodded, pointed towards the door, scratched his head, then shrugged again.

“You’re not sure, but you’ll give it a try?” Deadpool guessed. 

Peter grinned and nodded.

“Makes sense. Hey, do you know any sign language?” Wade asked, signing the question as he asked.

Peter frowned at him and shook his head.

Wade laughed. “Even though I find your attempts at communication adorable, it might help you out. Most of the crew here knows at least some sign language; Clint’s mostly deaf and we learned it to help him out. But turns out it’s a great way to communicate when it’s too loud to hear over the crowds. I could teach you?” He asked cautiously. “You, know, so you can communicate with us a little more easily?”

Peter furrowed his brow, then nodded hesitantly.

Wade grinned. “Awesome. Okay, let’s start with something easy. Here's how you say ‘My Name Is’.” He moved his hands into the words slowly, and Peter tried clumsily to copy him. “Great. Now, there aren’t signs for everyone’s names, so you spell out your name. Here’s how you spell Peter.” Again he formed the letters one at a time. Peter repeating his movements.

“Awesome,” Wade said. “Now put it all together.”

Peter slowly signed *My Name is Petr.*

“Almost perfect,” Wade said. “You just forgot the last e. And my name is Wade.” He signed the last sentence back at Peter. “And let’s go meet Thor and the dogs.”


	6. Peter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a panic attack near the end, in case those bother you.

Peter walked closely behind Wade, glancing around cautiously. He’d been too nervous to even leave the stable since he’d gotten here, unless it was dark and he was sure not to run into anyone else. But the burned man, _Wade_ , he reminded himself, didn’t seem scary. Wade’s constant chatter was calming. It helped that no one was near them, and the few people that passed by were obviously busy with their own tasks. And having Wade nearby was reassuring. He’d seen Wade in and out of the building every day; the horses obviously liked him. 

He followed Wade to the enormous building that seemed to be the center of the camp. Glancing through the huge double-doors, he saw that there were three rings set up inside. At the moment, all except one was empty. The one furthest from them was where Thor was standing, surrounded by dogs. 

Peter froze. He couldn’t help himself, the man wasn’t Skip, but he was still terrifying. Too big. Too loud. 

“Peter? You okay?” Wade asked. Peter glanced over to see Wade had turned back and was reaching out his hand as if he wanted to touch Peter, but had stopped several inches from his arm.

Peter looked at Wade in panic and shook his head, hands up in front of him. He wasn’t sure he could get any closer. 

“Petey, trust me on this. Thor is nothing like those creeps at Hydra. Think about the animals you’ve seen so far. Do any of them look like they’ve been abused or hurt?”

Peter dropped his hands and shook his head slowly. He thought about the animals he’d seen so far. The horses were all in excellent condition. And not one of them flinched away from him at all. He’d seen how Wade was with the animals, but their trainer also had to be kind for them to be so calm around people.

Wade smiled at him. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll go in. If you really can’t take it, you head back to the stables and spend some time with Gyllir. Put his mom in the crossties and groom them both. Okay?”

Peter crossed his arms tightly across his chest. He thought it would be okay, as long as Wade was near him. He pointed to Wade, then to himself.

Wade grinned. “Of course I’ll stay by you. Ready?” Wade turned back and stepped through the double-doors, then towards the ring.

Peter stayed close to Wade’s side as the two entered the building and to the ring on the right, where Peter could hear dogs barking and yipping, and Thor calling out commands. Wade stepped up to the edge of the ring. Peter stepped up next to him nervously, eyes locked on the blond man standing in the ring.

“Wade!” Thor called, seeing them. “Are you ready to help with today’s training?” 

“Wouldn’t miss it, big guy.”

“Good. Good.” Thor snapped his fingers and all the dogs immediately sat. Thor strode over to Wade, then looked at Peter curiously. “And this is Peter. Are you here to help Peter?” He asked. 

Peter flinched back at the man’s attention.

At his side, Wade leaned closer and spoke quietly. “Look at the dogs.” He said to Peter. “Dogs are an excellent judge of character, aren’t they?”

Peter nodded stiffly, looking at the dogs around the ring. They varied from large to small, smooth coats to wooly, but every single one of them looked happy and relaxed. Peter looked at Thor cautiously, then nodded.

“Excellent, my friend. Usually Wade and I split up the animals and work with each of them. It will go much better if you can help with this in the future.” Thor said, in what was, for him, a quiet voice.

Peter looked at Wade, then back at Thor. He held his hand over his mouth and shook his head. 

“He does not like dogs?” Thor asked, puzzled, looking at Wade.

“He can’t talk. He’s probably worried that he can’t train the dogs if he can’t talk.”

Thor laughed. “That is no problem! I train all the dogs both to voice and to hand signals. Today you will work with Wade and he will teach you all the hand signals. It will be fine, you will see.”

Peter smiled weakly and turned to Wade. Wade grinned at him. “Okay. I usually take the little dogs and Thor takes the big ones. The little ones have less of an attention span, and so do I, so we get along well.”

Peter grinned and followed Wade as he led a group of dogs to one side of the ring. Wade ran through their names, then started taking the dogs through their different tricks, all the time explaining to Peter how the dogs were happier when they worked every day. He showed the hand signals clearly, then said. “Okay. You’re ready. I’m going to have you work with Xavier.” He pointed to a fluffy gray poodle. “Don’t let the look fool you, poodles are extremely intelligent and Xavier has quite the sense of humor. Your job is to take him back and forth through the tent practicing all the hand commands you remember while you do it. So you feel more comfortable, we’ll use a leash today.”

Wade clipped a thin leash to the dog’s collar, then handed the end to Peter. 

Peter looked at him blankly for a moment, not sure he even remembered _any_ of the hand signals.

Wade waved a hand at the two of them. “Go! Out of the ring and up and down the length of the tent. See the sights, look around, and practice your hand signals.”

Peter glanced over at Thor, who looked up and smiled. “Good! You are starting to work! Do not let Xavier misbehave. He must listen to your commands. If he does not, you must let him know.”

Peter nodded and smiled back. Then stepped over the ring, patting his hand against his leg to tell Xavier to heel.

The small poodle immediately jumped out of the ring and positioned himself on Peter’s side, small muzzle turned up to watch Peter’s face. Peter smiled back at the dog and strode off, adjusting his stride to find one that the dog could follow easily.

Peter and the poodle wandered back and forth through the tent, stopping occasionally while Peter tried a hand signal. The small poodle sat, lay down, rolled over and shook hands on command. Peter knew there were more commands, but he couldn’t remember them. He didn’t want to give a command he wasn’t sure of and end up confusing the dog.

He was too nervous to leave the building, but he looked around when he passed the doors. There were double doors on each wall, all open to the warm sun. There were several people wandering around. Most smiled or waved at him, but they all kept their distance. He wasn’t sure if Wade had talked to them, or if they could just see he was working, but he was glad that they stayed away. Two new people, especially with one of them being Thor, was all he thought he could take.

When Wade waved him back, he led the poodle back to the ring and managed to take the hearty slap on the back from Thor without wincing too much. 

“Lunch time.” Wade told him. “We’ll help put the dogs up, then grab some lunch.” 

Peter watched as the dogs were all leashed and took the four leashes that Wade handed to him.

“The dogs all stay with other people in the camp. It works out for everyone, the dogs get plenty of companionship and so does the team. Plus, they make an excellent warning system.” Wade explained as they walked around, handing leashes off to different people they passed. When they were down to one dog each, Wade commented. “This one stays with me.” He pointed at the enormous black Bull Mastiff he had on a leash. “And Xavier doesn’t have anyone to stay with right now, so he either sleeps in my trailer or with Thor. But since Thor has four dogs in his trailer already, I usually take him with me.”

Wade looked at Peter. “Or, you could take him.”

Peter looked at Wade and held out the leash, shaking his head. How was he supposed to take care of a dog? He lived in a stable. He wasn’t even sure they allowed dogs in the stable. 

Wade looked at the leash but didn’t take it. “He really seems to like you. Why not?”

Peter pointed at the stable, then shook his head and pointed at the dog.

“Because you’re sleeping in the stable?”

Peter nodded.

Wade shrugged. “You don’t have to. Pepper was going to put you in with Thor, or if you’d rather, you and Xavier could bunk with me. I don’t have a roommate right now; something about how much I talk.” 

Peter smiled hesitantly at Wade, pulling his hand back. He didn’t mind Wade’s talking. It was kind of soothing, actually. 

“You game?” Wade asked. “I warn you, the talking thing doesn’t get better. And I have nightmares sometimes. Woke my old roommate up more than once screaming.”

Peter pointed at Wade, then at himself, and nodded. He doubted Wade’s nightmares were much worse than his own.

Wade cocked his head. “You get nightmares too?”

Peter nodded. 

Wade grinned. “Well, if you’re willing to put up with my nightmares, I think I can put up with yours. Oh! And I can teach you to sign. Come on, Roomie. Let’s get lunch.”

Peter pointed at the dogs questioningly. 

Wade laughed, “no worries. They’re welcome at lunch, and around the camp on or off leash.” 

Peter followed Wade, looking around curiously. The tent they were headed towards was already packed, and he slowed down nervously. 

“Baby boy. Peter.” Peter looked over, surprised to find out he’d stopped walking and was clenching Xavier’s leash tightly. The poodle was looking up at him curiously, and Colossus was nudging his knee.

Wade smiled. “How about you sit here?” He pointed at an empty table in the corner of the dining tent. 

He looked at Wade, then at the table.

Wade patted the end of the bench. “You sit here.”

Peter sat slowly, then tried to relax his grip on the leash.

“Xavier. Up.” Wade patted the bench next to Peter, and the poodle hopped up and sat next to him. “Good. And Colossus will sit here and keep you company. I’ll go get food.” He positioned the big dog on Peter’s other side, completely bracketing him.

Peter nodded. His hands were shaking, but he managed to loosen his grip on the leash. He focused on petting the dogs, trying to relax.

People walked by and waved. He recognized a few; they had stopped to deliver dogs to them. He smiled back, but kept his hands on his dogs. 

He could hear the conversations; most of them were talking about their plans for their time off, or gossiping about other members. No one seemed to be talking about him. Or staring at him. He gradually relaxed. Maybe Wade was right. He took a deep breath and tried to relax his body.

“Peter.” A quiet woman’s voice interrupted him. “How are you doing?” The pretty blonde woman who had taken him to eat when he got here was standing across the table from him. 

Peter couldn’t breathe. She was clearly in charge. He wanted to get up and run, but he couldn’t easily get up with the dogs around him. 

She must have noticed his panic, because she took a step back and smiled sadly at him. “I’m sorry I scared you. I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay.”

Xavier was whimpering next to him, trying to lick his cheek. Peter tore his eyes away from the woman and looked at the dog. 

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you eat your lunch.” The woman said. When he looked up, she was walking away, glancing at him over her shoulder frequently.

Peter cuddled the poodle next to him and watched as she walked up to Wade and spoke to him, clearly upset. Wade just smiled at her and waved her off. He’d gotten their plates and strode off. The woman glared after him, hands on her hips.

Peter watched nervously, hoping he hadn't gotten Wade in trouble.

They finished their lunch quickly. Peter kept glancing around anxiously, but too hungry to skip another meal.

Wade, as always, kept up both ends of the conversation. Peter nodded and smiled, not knowing half the things or people he was talking about.

“Okay. Let's go get you settled in.” Wade said. “Let me put these away and I’ll show you where you’re going to sleep.” He grabbed the trays and headed back to the front of the tent to drop them off.

Peter nodded and got up from the bench, then stood awkwardly waiting for Wade.

“This way.” Wade directed when he returned, patting his hip so Colossus moved into position and followed him. Peter walked after him, holding tightly onto Xavier’s leash. There were several rows of trailers lined up, with wide areas between them and roads along each row. 

Wade’s trailer was the last in the line, closest to the stables. Wade opened the door and motioned Peter in.

Peter climbed the stairs into the trailer and looked around. The place was a mess. Empty pizza boxes, bottles of beer, and random garbage covered everything.

Wade climbed in behind him, then groaned. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I’m a bit of a slob. I can do better though. I promise.”

Peter just looked around and shrugged. It might be a mess, but at least it was warm and dry.

Wade was frantically stuffing garbage into a bag. The dogs had curled up on dog beds and were watching them. 

“Why don’t you look around. The bedroom’s back that way, and we have a bathroom… but maybe you better not go in the bathroom until I have time to clean.” Wade scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I promise. I really can be neat. It's just been so crazy the last few weeks and we lost our groom and I’ve been running around like crazy….”

Peter smiled at him and walked around checking out the rest of the trailer. There was a small kitchen/dining room, and a built in couch that clearly doubled as storage. The bathroom was disgusting. Peter was pretty sure Wade had an alien fungus growing in the shower. The last door led to the bedroom. He opened the door and looked around, surprised. The bedroom was actually neat. The bed was made, the clothes were hung up, doors and drawers closed. There was a built-in bookshelf with straps to hold the books when traveling.

Then he froze. There was only one bed. Oh god. Not again. When Wade had said roommates, he didn’t think he meant…

Peter spun, frantic to get out of the trailer. He ran right into a solid wall of muscle; Wade was in the doorway right behind him.

“Whoa..” Wade grabbed his shoulders. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Peter fought against him, trying to get loose. 

“Peter. Peter. Stop. Look at me.” Wade’s voice was calm, but it just made Peter more and more frantic.

“Peter!” Wade snapped.

Peter froze, and looked up into Wade’s face, nearly hyperventilating with fear.

“Peter. Is it the bed?” Wade asked.

Peter jerked, trying to pull out of Wade’s grasp.

“Peter. Listen to me. You can have the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch. It’s a pullout. Or there’s another bunk over there. I do not expect you to sleep with me. I promise I will not touch you, and neither will anyone else. If you need the room to yourself, it’s yours.”

Peter looked at him, shocked at both the man’s words and his voice. He actually sounded like he cared. No one had talked to him like that since Aunt May.

“I’m going to let go of you. Will you please stay here and talk to me?” Wade asked.

Peter nodded, still breathing hard, but feeling a little calmer.

“Okay.” Wade dropped his hands. “So, sleeping arrangements. You tell me what you’re comfortable with.” He walked over and pulled down what Peter had thought was a row of cupboards to show a bunk bed. “We have the big bed, this bunk, and the couch turns into a bed too. You can pick where you want to sleep and where you want me to sleep. It’s all good with me.”

Peter looked around the room nervously. Now he felt a little silly for overreacting. Wade was willing to give up his bed, his room. He wasn’t sure what to do. But he wasn’t going to kick Wade out of his own bed. Or his own room. He pointed at Wade hesitantly, then at the bed. Then pointed at himself and at the bunk.

Wade smiled. “Okay. Good. Now, Pepper has your bags, and we’ll get them later. I have to go help Thor in a little while with the horses. You are welcome to come with me, or stay here and sleep or find something to read.”

Peter nodded, then pointed to himself and Wade.

“Okay. Helping with the horses it is.”


	7. Tony

Tony sighed, glaring at the schedule Pepper had handed him. 

“We’ve still got major holes in the schedule.” Pepper said. “We need at least one more major act, but two would be better.”

“I know, I know.” Tony answered. “The problem is, all the other acts our team members can add are just variants of what we have going on already. We need different acts, but there’s no one looking for a new job right now, and we can’t start with raw recruits. We don’t have time to train someone from scratch.”

Tony tapped the paper. “I’ll talk to Peter. We need him to get on board. He’s a professional, and we could get him set up with an act pretty quickly.”

Pepper frowned. “Tony, I don’t think that’s a great idea.”

“Pepper, you know the rules, everyone performs.” Tony said. 

“Peter didn’t join by choice. And he’s still terrified of everyone.” She looked off towards the stables. “Except Wade. For some reason, he trusts Wade. If you need someone to talk to Peter, it might be better to have Wade do it.”

Tony frowned. “I guess you’re right. He still refuses to even look at me when I talk to him.” Then he brightened. “Maybe Wade could do an act. He’s great with those knives. If we got someone cute to act as his target, maybe we could have him do a knife-throwing act. Put him before the intermission, and have Bucky and Clint after, or vice versa.”

Pepper nodded. “It might work. But you know he hates having people look at him.”

Tony shrugged. “He’ll wear a costume like he does when he fills in for one of the shooters. In fact, that would be even better. It’s a lot more terrifying and would add even more of a feel of death defying if some enormous leather clad man is throwing sharp objects at some pretty young thing. In fact….” Tony’s voice trailed off. 

Pepper waited patiently, used to Tony’s tangents.

“That’s it. That’s our theme this year.”

Pepper looked at him blankly. “What is? Men in leather? Pretty young things? Scary?”

“No! Super Heroes. We put everyone in spandex and bright colors and masks. It’ll be great.”

Pepper nodded. “It’ll be a lot easier to costume than last year’s steampunk. And if we can get those two acts up and running, we have enough to fill out the schedule. More would be better, but we can do it this way. It’s going to be rough on the team, they’ll all be on constantly, either in the ring or behind the scenes. But we can do it and keep looking.”

Tony shook his head. “Okay. I’ll talk to Wade.” He glanced at his watch. “Who’s in the rings now?” 

“Dogs in one, Tasha in two, and three is empty.” Pepper replied, without looking at either her watch or the schedule. Tony shook his head. He had no idea how she did it, but it saved him so much time and effort, he wasn’t going to question it.

“Okay. I should be able to grab Wade. They still have Peter working with Xavier, learning the hand commands, so I can get Wade alone if I go right now.”

“Then get out of here.” Pepper waved at him. “And you can save one of the guys some time and pick up Rocky for me when they finish.”

Tony nodded as he left, headed for the rings.

Peter was, in fact, still working outside of the rings with Xavier. He’d been learning quickly. In almost no time, he’d picked up most of the hand signals and was learning sign language at a fantastic pace. 

Tony stepped up to the edge of ring one and waved Wade over. Wade glanced at Thor, who nodded and flapped a hand at him. Wade put the pair of dogs he’d been working with into a long down and walked over to Tony.

Knowing the man’s penchant for talking, Tony started as soon as Wade was close. “Wade, need a few minutes. Walk with me?” He waved toward the door.

Wade shrugged and stepped out of the ring. “You’re the boss. What’s up?”

Tony shook his head, glancing over at Peter, who he could see had stopped working and was staring at them, his shoulders tight. Xavier was nosing at his legs anxiously.

“Not in here. We’re making your sidekick worry.” Tony grinned and waved at Peter. “And don’t look worried. That kid needs to relax.”

Wade grinned and signed *be right back* to Peter. Peter smiled back and looked down at Xavier. 

Wade turned and followed Tony out the door. “Okay boss, now you have _me_ worried. What’s up.”

Tony smiled. “Part of it you’re not going to like, and part of it will be tough, but we need your help.”

“Yeah, boss man. Get to the point.” Wade folded his arms across his chest.

“We’re short acts.” Tony said. “We haven’t been able to find anyone to replace the three we lost at the end of the season, and we’re running out of time.”

“Yeah,” Wade said. “And what does that have to do with me?” Then he put his hands up. “Whoa. No. Not me.”

Tony shrugged. “Everyone performs, Wade. And you’re the only one I know can put together an act quickly.”

“But you already have Bucky and Clint. You don’t need another shooter.”

Tony shook his head. “Not guns, Wade, knives. We get you a cute little thing, put you in your leather getup, and you throw knives. It has everything. You’re terrifying. The knives are deadly. And a cute little thing for the audience to ogle.”

Wade sighed. “I guess. As long as I get to wear the suit.”

Tony nodded. “Of course. It’s catchy and terrifying. You’re just a big teddy bear without it. With it, you’re a deadly assassin.” He clapped Wade on the shoulder.

Wade snorted. “Thanks for the lie boss man. So if that’s the part I won’t like, what’s the part that’s going to be tough?”

Tony looked down and was silent for several seconds. Finally he looked up at Wade. “We need Peter too. He’s still terrified, I get that. But he’s a professional. I’ve seen his family before, and he’s been performing since he could walk. If we can get him on the tightrope, it would be great. I know he’s done more trapeze, but he can’t do much without a catcher and we don’t have anyone trained. We need you to talk to him. You need to talk him into performing. And you don’t have time. We need to get the equipment and get him working as soon as possible.”

Wade’s shoulder’s slumped. “Oh, man.” He turned his head and looked towards the building. “I dunno if he’s ready. Did you know he wakes up in a panic every night? I still don’t know what happened to him at Hydra, but it wasn’t good.”

Tony nodded. “I know. But you’re the only one who has a chance to get him to even consider it.”

Wade glared at him. “I’m his friend. And this might be enough to ruin any trust he has in me.”

Tony’s face was grim. “I’ll leave it up to you, but we need another act. Even if we get Peter, it’s going to be a rough season for us. Everyone will be on constantly. But without Peter, it’s going to be impossible. If it wasn’t that serious, I’d let it alone and let you take as much time as you need. If you ask, and he’s really not ready…” Tony trailed off.

“Fine.” Deadpool dragged out. “I’ll talk to him. But give me some time. I need to go about this carefully.”

Tony nodded. “I’ll keep looking, and if we find another alternative, I’ll let you know. But we’ve asked everywhere.”

Wade nodded, then turned away and went back into the building to pick up where he left off. 

Tony took a deep breath, watching him walk off. Sometimes he really hated his job.


	8. Wade

Wade walked back into the building, thinking quickly. He wasn’t sure how to bring up things with Peter, but he figured it would be better to tackle Peter’s performance later in the trailer. He’d just mention that Tony wanted him to develop an act when Peter asked what was up. Maybe Peter would be willing to help him out. 

He sighed and went back to working with the dogs while he ran through ideas of what he could do. He knew he could start with the trick throws—he could hit a falling object, and if it was a card or something similar, it was really impressive. The knife would drive it into the target and pin the card. But he needed an assistant. He knew Tony probably had Natasha in mind, but he wasn’t quite ready to tackle her on his own. He’d talk to Pepper first and see if she knew someone who could serve as his assistant.

When Thor called them all back, he helped leash up the dogs and return them where they belonged. Tony was still at the door, ready to pick up Pepper’s dog. As they walked off, Peter pointed at Tony and signed *What?* at Wade.

Wade grinned. “I’ll tell you over lunch. But remember how I told you everyone performs? Looks like I’m going to move up from assistant to my own act.”

Peter raised his eyebrows at him.

Wade laughed. “Let’s get these guys back where they belong, grab some lunch and I’ll tell you all about it. Maybe you can help me plan out the act.”

Peter shrugged, then nodded. He followed along after Wade, handing over leashes when they met up with the dog’s keepers.

Wade watched him, glad to see he was smiling more around other people, and often signed back *You’re welcome* when people told him thank you. Clint, as always, signed everything he said, and Wade was amused to see Peter trying to mimic his signing. 

After grabbing lunch they grabbed seats at one of the empty tables. Wade had decided it was better for them to sit close to other people rather than eat in the stable alone. He’d asked the rest of the team to give them room, and they’d been leaving a table near the edge of the tent free for Wade and Peter. Wade took a bite and grinned to see that Peter was looking very relaxed, switching between taking bites of the stew and petting Xavier. 

“Okay. So Tony wants me to demonstrate some knife throwing. I’m better with guns, but I’m no slouch at knives either. I can hit a fly on a wall, but of course that doesn’t work too well in the ring.” Wade said.

Peter nodded and tilted his head quizzically. 

Wade frowned. “I hate having people look at me, but I have this awesome costume I wear when I fill in for Bucky or Clint. It’s red and black leather, and it’s totally awesome. Plus, it has all these loops and pockets for hiding knives and things. It’ll be great.”

Peter gave him a thumbs up and grinned.

“Yeah. After lunch, I need to go talk to Pepper. Trick throwing is alright, but what the people really want to see is something dangerous. I need an assistant, someone cute that can stand in front of the target while I throw knives around them, or through apples on their head.”

Peter frowned and looked down at the table. Then he pulled the small notebook he carried out of his pocket and scribbled a note before handing it over to Wade.

“I’ll do it if I can have an awesome costume too.” Wade read out loud. “Okay, baby boy. That might just work. We’ll see what Pepper says. But, in my opinion, you in a skintight costume will definitely be distracting for the audience.” He laughed to see Peter’s face turn bright red. “Aw. Don’t blush. You are adorable and everyone is going to be gasping, terrified that I might miss and damage that pert little behind of yours.”

Peter glared at him and grabbed the notebook back.

Wade smiled. “No really, thanks. I’m always really nervous in front of the audiences. I hate how people react to my face, and even in my costume, it’s terrifying. It’ll be nice to have a friend close by.”

Peter ducked his head and shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay. Let’s finish up lunch, go find Pepper, then see if Thor’s going to need us when he works with the horses this afternoon.”

Peter nodded and went back to eating, sliding the notebook back into his pocket.

Wade told Peter a series of increasing more unbelievable stories about his knife tricks while he finished eating. He watched the young man laugh and roll his eyes as his stories got more and more ridiculous. He was quite relieved at how quickly Peter had offered to help him with the act. Maybe the idea of performing wouldn’t be that impossible. But, he decided, it still would be better to wait until later to bring it up. Give Peter more privacy in case it brought on a bad reaction.

“Okay,” He said when they finished. “Let’s go talk to Pepper. You coming with me? Since you volunteered to help out as my target, you should probably come with me so we can get our schedules in sync.”

Peter rolled his eyes at Wade.

Wade laughed. “Oh, hush you. Just because our schedules are the same doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be involved in deciding when we work.”

Pepper had already worked them (well, Wade) into the practice schedule. When Wade said that Peter had volunteered to be his assistant, she looked Peter up and down, then nodded. 

“I think that’ll work.” She said thoughtfully. “Put him in some tights and nothing else.”

Wade noticed Peter tense out of the corner of his eye and turned. The kid was turning white and breathing a little too fast.

“Or, maybe full body spandex?” Wade asked slowly. 

Peter’s eyes snapped to Wade, and he nodded a little.

Pepper put her hand to her chin. “That could do it. You okay with bright colors and sparkles?”

Peter smiled and nodded. 

“Okay. I’ll have the seamstress look at what we have and see what we can put together for you. Let me know if you need anything else, or if something comes up that means changing the schedule.” She looked at Wade, and he was relieved she didn’t mention anything about Peter performing.

He clapped Peter on the shoulder. “Okay, kid. We need to get moving. Lots to do.”


	9. Peter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Still losing track of days. Sorry this is late...

Peter spent the rest of the day following Wade around, trying to keep up. He knew he wasn’t helping a lot, but he wasn’t really good at brainstorming when he couldn’t talk. Wade kept asking him his opinion of different parts of the act, and he really didn’t know how to reply. Finally, he held his hands up in front of Wade to get his attention, then he signed *Bucky.* 

Wade pointed at him. “That’s brilliant baby boy. Let’s get Clint and Bucky to help us out with the act. Okay. We’ll meet them at dinner. That means we have enough time to stop by the seamstresses and then head to dinner. Sound good?”

Peter relaxed and grinned, nodding. Outfits he could handle. He wasn’t sure what Wade’s skill was, and he really couldn’t ask, not without a bigger notepad.

The two headed over to one of the larger trailers on the edge of the camp. Wade knocked on the door before opening it and calling “hello?”

A woman’s voice called back, “Hello Wade! Come on in. I hear you’re bringing me a new one to outfit.”

Wade opened the door wide and waved Peter in ahead of him. Peter looked at Wade, then nervously stepped through the door. The room was filled with bolts of fabric, outfits, and bins of sequins and stones. Two tables ran down the center, and he saw a few sewing machines around the edges of the room. A woman was facing the door and holding her hand out to Peter. 

“Hello Peter. I’m Edna. I’m the stylist.” 

Peter shook her hand and smiled at her. She seemed, as had everyone he’d met so far, really nice. He wasn’t really ready to accept that this place was safe. It had been so long since he had felt safe, but he was starting to think that having Fury show up that one afternoon had been a good thing. At the time, what with the sheer chaos it had caused, it had terrified him. Not to mention, every time he and Aunt May had changed troupes, things had gotten worse. He kept waiting for everyone to show their real faces. But so far, everyone was… nice.

The woman smiled as she released his hand and waved at the back wall where Peter could see a man bent over notebooks. “That’s Reggie. He’s put together some sketches for you to look at.” She walked over to the Reggie, gesturing for Peter to follow. He glanced over at Wade, who grinned.

“I’m right behind you, baby boy. Have to make sure my assistant looks amazing, don’t I.”

Peter smiled back and followed over to look. 

The man looked up and smiled. “‘Allo Peter. I have several ideas. What colors were you thinking?” The man’s voice was quiet, with a bit of a French accent. 

Peter glanced at Wade and shrugged, signing *what?*

Wade frowned and rubbed his chin. “Well, my costume is red and black. But I don’t think that’s bright enough for him. We want him to catch everyone’s eye.”

The man looked at Peter, then winked at Wade. “That will not be difficult. He is adorable.”

When Wade agreed enthusiastically, Peter felt his face heat, and he ducked his head self consciously. He really wasn’t sure how to take this place. Not only were they nice, Wade actually seemed to like him. 

Edna cleared her throat. “Boys. Focus. We need to get Peter clothed. Now, Peter, what’s your opinion? What is your favorite color?” 

Peter turned and scanned the room. He still didn’t know enough words to sign, but he’d gotten by for years without talking. He could do this. He spotted a bolt of a bright blue and walked over to it, and tapped it, then glanced over at Edna quizzically.

She nodded, then strode over and grabbed his chin. “Hmm. Beautiful brown eyes, brown hair. Yes, blue would work well on you. Now. I understand you have been with the circus before, so you know what I’m likely to be dressing you in, yes?” She released his chin and tilted her head.

Peter nodded cautiously. 

“So you are fine with skin tight?”

Peter hesitated, not quite sure what to do. Yes, he was fine with skin tight. He’d spent most of his life in skin tight outfits. He just didn’t want _skin_.

Wade appeared next to Edna. “He seems to be a little leery about showing a lot of skin.” 

Peter looked at Wade gratefully and nodded vigorously. 

Edna beamed and clapped her hands together. “I can work with that. We can keep everything covered and still keep everyone’s eyes on you. Now, you will need something to work in, unless you already have outfits?”

Peter shuddered, remembering the last time he’d worn his tights. Even if he had brought them with him, he certainly wouldn’t want to wear them. He shook his head, both to indicate that he had nothing to wear, and to try to shake that feeling of terror and pain.

“No worries!” Edna said. “We will find you something. It won’t be sparkly or elegant, but you won’t want that for training anyhow.”

Peter smiled at her and nodded his head in agreement.

“Okay.” She strode off and began digging through racks and drawers. “Here!” She exclaimed. “This should work.”

She brought over a pair of footless tights in a light brown. “Try these on.” She waved at a curtained door in the corner. “Duck into the changing room, get these on and we’ll see how well they fit.” 

Peter took the tights and snuck into the changing room. He quickly stripped down to his underwear and pulled on the tights. He ran his hands up and down the smooth fabric on his thighs, taking a deep breath. He hadn’t realized how much he missed this. He felt like he was back in his own skin. He smiled to himself, then slid out through the curtain, barefoot.

“Wow.” Wade’s voice was surprised. Peter glanced at him and felt his ears burn when he realized where Wade’s eyes were focused. 

“Stop!” Edna yelled, and Peter froze. He wasn’t sure what he’d done wrong. His mind was racing. She’d told him to try the pants on. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to keep them on? But he was sure she wanted to see if they fit. He was having trouble breathing. Why did he always have to screw up? 

“Whoa, baby boy. Breathe.” Wade was next to him in a moment, hand on his shoulder, “No one’s mad. Just breathe.” 

Peter looked at him desperately, trying to calm down. 

“Oh honey, no!” Edna’s voice sounded sorry. “I just meant don’t walk any further. This place is full of pins, and you don’t have anything on your feet.” She looked at his feet. “What size shoe do you need? I just want your feet covered.”

Peter took a deep breath. Okay. Yeah. Stepping on a pin would not be pleasant. And now that he thought about it, she hadn’t sounded angry. He took another breath and forced his shoulders to relax, then smiled hesitantly. Remembering her question, he held up nine fingers.

Edna smiled. “You’re in luck. We have several options in that size. Let’s see…”

She sorted through another rack, then returned with two pair of ballet flats. “Here these should work.” She handed him one pair. “Put these on.” She handed the other pair to Wade. “And you hold these extras for now.” 

Peter slid the shoes on, then glanced at Edna.

She smiled and spun her finger, indicating he should spin.

He turned in place, grinning to himself. He turned back to face her, to find her nodding emphatically. “Perfect.” She turned back, picked up a stack of clothes and handed those to Wade as well. “Extras. So he doesn’t need to wear the same outfit every day. Now. For the measuring.” 

Reggie walked over with a measuring tape. “Arms out, legs apart.”

Peter followed instructions. It took all his concentration to stay still while the man ran the tape measure along his arms, legs, waist, and any other part of his body he could reach. He knew he was doing an awful job of not flinching whenever the man touched him. But the man just pretended he didn’t notice, and continued on with his measuring, softly calling out numbers to Edna, who wrote everything down in a notebook. 

Wade must have noticed the tension in Peter, because he started talking. Peter focused on Wade’s voice. Not actually what he was saying, but he let the words roll over him, reminding him he was here with Wade, who liked him. After that, it was easier to ignore what the man was doing and keep breathing.

Then it was over, and Wade was escorting him out of the trailer, and Xavier and Colossus were there, pressing up against his legs, and he could breathe again. He could finally relax when they got back to Wade’s trailer. Wade seated him at the small table, then kneeled down next to him to look up into his face. “Baby boy, I’m going to go get some dinner and bring it back here. I think you’ve had enough people for today. I’m gonna leave the dogs here with you. Colossus will keep anyone out, and Xavier is a smart little pup. He’ll tell you if anyone is around, okay? You’ll be fine.”

Peter nodded and reached out a shaky hand to touch the smooth fur on Colossus’ head. The dog pushed his head over Peter’s leg.

“Okay.” Wade took the dog’s leashes off, then slipped outside of the trailer.

Peter looked down at the dog on his knee. He concentrated on the dog, focusing on it and trying to rein in his thoughts. It was safe here. He didn’t have to worry. The people here weren’t like Skip. And maybe if he repeated that enough, he’d believe it.

By the time Wade came back with a tray, Peter’s breathing was back to normal. He looked up when Wade entered and smiled.

“Feeling better?” Wade asked. “If not, this is going to cheer you up enormously. Dinner is spaghetti tonight and everyone loves spaghetti, don’t they?”

Peter smiled and nodded. He did like spaghetti, but Wade’s company was doing more to cheer him up than the food was.

Wade arranged everything on the table, then sat down across from Peter. He kept talking about random things—what he had seen, acts he liked, anything else that crossed his mind.

Peter ate and listened and relaxed more and more.

“Baby boy,” Wade’s voice was hesitant. Peter looked up in surprise, he’d gotten lost in the sound of Wade’s stories and hadn’t really been paying attention. He tilted his head to show he was paying attention.

“I’m not sure this is the best time to bring this up…” Wade’s voice trailed off and he stared out the window.

Peter reached across the table and touched Wade’s hand. When Wade glanced at him, he signed *What?* and waited.

Wade sighed. “Tony had something else he wanted to talk to me about.” He looked out the window again, then back at Peter. “Even with me having an act, the troupe is down acts. If we get one more, we’ll have enough to open. It’ll be rough, but we can keep looking for another while we travel, but if we don’t have at least one more act….” His voice trailed off again, and he looked at Peter nervously.

Peter took a deep breath. He knew this would come sooner or later; there was no way they would invest money in him and not expect him to perform. Oh god. They knew about his family. What if they wanted him on the high wire? He could feel the panic closing in again. No. Not that he…

“Baby boy. Breathe. It’s okay. You’re fine.” Peter realized that Wade was kneeling in front of him, table pushed aside, hands cradling his face. “Kiddo, it’s okay. It’s okay. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want. We’ll understand.”

Peter raised his hands to cover Wade’s and took a few shaky breaths. He reached for his pocket, then realized he was still in the tights. He didn’t have his notebook. He put his hand out and mimed writing.

“You want paper? You want to write?” Wade asked.

Peter nodded, relieved he’d understood so quickly.

“Okay. Hold on…” Wade jumped to his feet and returned in a few moments with a stub of pencil and a notebook. He held them out to Peter, hands shaking slightly.

Peter smiled and took the notebook. Then he took the items from Wade and pulled the table a little closer, clearing off the corner so he could write. Taking a deep breath, he scrawled quickly.

<Not the high wire. I can perform, but not the high wire.>

He held the paper out to Wade and waited for the explosion.

Wade read his note, then glanced at him. “Okay. That’s fine. What else can you do? Any ideas?” He handed the paper back.

Peter looked at him, shocked. Then shook his head and thought. Trapeze, but he needed a catcher. He was a good acrobat, but a single acrobat wasn’t much of an act. Then he remembered the routine he had been working on with his aunt before his uncle’s… accident. 

<Good on trapeze, no catcher. Good acrobat, need more people. But maybe Silks? > He handed it to Wade.

Wade read it over quickly. “Okay… yeah. You’d need a catcher and we don’t have anyone trained or anyone else who can perform… Acrobat might work. We’ve got some others who could join the act, and we might be able to make it work. But what is silks?” He handed the paper back to Peter.

Peter tried to think of how to explain it. He finally sighed and drew a quick sketch of two long strips of fabric, with a person hanging from the fabric wrapped around one arm and the opposite leg. He handed it to Wade and looked at him anxiously, hoping he’d understand.

Wade looked at it and nodded. “Huh. Never seen that before.” He looked up at Peter. “But it could be interesting. We’ll have to talk to the crew and see if they can rig up what you need, and we can work with it.” Wade grinned from ear to ear. “And since I’m your partner, I get to watch you flip and spin around in that so we can figure out what your skill set is.” Wade waved at Peter’s body to indicate the “that” he meant.

Peter flushed when he realized just what Wade was waving at. Then he grinned back. If Wade was going to be obnoxious, so was he. He glanced around quickly. The chairs were pretty sturdy, and had open backs, just like the ones he’d trained with. He shoo’d Wade back, then twisted his chair, so it was parallel to the table and sat down backwards, facing the chair back. He slid one leg through the back of the chair and leaned back slightly, raising his other leg over his head and grabbing it to pull it up past his ear, leaning back and holding the back of the chair with his other arm. He sat back up, pulled his leg out, and stood up on the seat of the chair. He bent forward, and put one hand on the back of the chair, one on the front edge of the seat, and slowly lifted his legs into a handstand. He glanced up to see Wade staring at him with a huge grin on his face. 

Peter lowered his feet, stood up and turned to face Wade, arms flung wide and chest out, just like his family had trained him to do.

Wade clapped exuberantly still grinning. “That was awesome! And I bet you can do more, can’t you! If that was with no warm up and in this tiny room, I can’t wait to see what you can do when there’s space.”

Peter smiled back, then glanced out the window. It was getting pretty late, he realized, and they still had to take care of the animals. He pointed to the window then mimed shoveling, raising his eyebrows at Wade.

Wade glanced at the window. “Yeah, baby boy. We’d better get a move on. You go change and we’ll get going.”


	10. Tony

Tony bent over the papers Pepper had handed him and groaned. This was definitely the part of the job he hated. “Can’t you just take care of all of this?” He asked.

Pepper whacked him on the back of the head. “Grow up, Tony. You want to run a circus you need to deal with this stuff. And if we don’t keep all our licenses, certificates, and tax forms up to date, you won’t be running anything. And the cast and crew still need to eat.”

Tony groaned. “I know! I know! But I’m sure you could forge my signature.”

Pepper hit him again. “Tony! I already do all the paperwork. All you have to do is sign on the line. You keep this up, and I’ll let you do the whole thing yourself. And you’d be out of business in one week.”

“No! No!” Tony spun in his chair, grabbing her hand, realizing he might have gone a little too far. “You’re right. I would be totally lost without you. The whole circus would be lost without you. Don’t leave us. I’ll sign everything you want me to sign and I’ll stop complaining!”

Pepper laughed. “No, you won’t.”

Tony’s shoulders slumped. “No, I probably won’t. But I do know how important you are to the circus. That must count for something.”

Pepper tried to look stern but broke out laughing. “Yeah. Yeah, it does. Now sign these and we can call it a night.”

Tony grinned and turned back to the stack of forms and signed everywhere she indicated. He signed the last paper, then laid his pen down and looked up at Pepper. “All done. Okay?” 

Someone behind them cleared their throat. Tony glanced over and saw Wade holding a pad of paper. 

“Wade! What’s up?” Tony asked.

“Hello Wade.” Pepper said.

“Hi guys.” Wade said. “I wanted to give you an update. You probably heard about the incident at Edna’s trailer. I just wanted to let you know Peter’s alright. I don’t know, still, what happened at Hydra, but I’m pretty sure he was… abused. He seems really hesitant to have anyone touch him, and he really can’t take yelling. He seems to do much better, though, when he’s got Xavier with him.”

“And you.” Tony said. “He was actually smiling when I walked by. Did you get a chance to talk to him about performing?”

Wade nodded happily. “Yes! Though I almost blew it. I suggested tightrope, and he had a panic attack. Do you have any idea why?”

Tony shook his head. He knew the Parker family had a long history in aerial acts, including tightrope, but that should be a comfortable thing, not a trigger for a panic attack.

“I think I might.” Pepper said quietly.

The two men turned and looked at her.

“I did a little research after Fury dropped him off. His uncle died in a tightrope accident. I’m not sure what happened, but he was involved somehow and that’s when he stopped talking.” Pepper said. “I remember seeing an article about it. It was also the final straw for the family. After that, there was only Peter and his aunt. And they were limited in things they could perform. Plus Peter got a reputation as a problem child, because he wouldn’t talk. They moved to smaller and smaller circuses until they ended up at Hydra. And we all know what a shit hole that place is.” Pepper shrugged. “And then his aunt died.”

Wade groaned and grabbed his head. “I wish I’d known. I would never have suggested high wire.”

Tony stood up and grabbed Wade by the shoulders. “But he’s okay? Right? You were able to talk him down?” He spoke calmly, trying to calm the man down.

Wade nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. He was okay, and we talked about some other options.” His face brightened. “That’s why I was coming over. He’s amazing! He was showing me some of what he can do, and, wow. He’s got flexibility and strength and balance, and something about him just makes you want to watch.” He shrugged. “Oh. And he drew this. He said it’s an act he can do alone.” He thrust the pad at Tony.

Tony dropped his hands and took the pad, tilting it so Pepper could see it too. “That’s good news.” He knew Wade had seen a lot of acts and knew what would make a good act. He tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. But the sketch he was looking at didn’t make a lot of sense to him. He glanced at Pepper quizzically.

Pepper was smiling widely. “I’ve seen this before. Peter’s mother used to perform like this. Two strips of silk, and the performer climbs them, then performs different feats of strength and balance while wrapping parts of their bodies in in the silk. It’s incredible.”

Tony looked at Wade. “Do you think he can do it?”

Wade nodded at him. “He says he can. He suggested it.”

Pepper touched the page. “And Natasha would be a great resource. This is a lot like dancing, and with her ballet background she could help him choreograph something.” She glanced at Wade. “But he’s going to need a lot of practice and work. He hasn’t performed in a long time.”

Wade nodded. “But he’s got all of us to help him out.”

Tony grinned. “Especially you. He’s lucky to have you.”

Wade smiled. “You think so?”

Pepper reached out and touched his hand. “Definitely. You’ve been helping him out a lot.”

Tony handed the notebook to Wade. “Get this over to Hank in the morning. He’ll get started on making the equipment.”

“Will do. Well, I gotta get back. Don't want Peter to wake up and find me gone. I left Colossus and Xavier with him, but..” Wade waved and headed back towards his trailer.

“Alright.” Tony said happily. “Two more acts. We’ve got enough now to start off. I’d feel a lot better, though, if we could line up at least one more. We’d be able to give folks a bit of a break if we did.”

“Hmm.” Pepper replied. “You sure we’re not pushing Peter too hard? From what Wade said, that’s two panic attacks in one day. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking that boy permanently.”

Tony looked at her. “You know I’d never let him go on if he wasn’t ready, right?” 

Pepper smiled and nodded. “Yes. I do know that. But he may feel like he has no choice in the whole matter, what with us taking him away from Hydra.”

Tony groaned. “Yeah. He might.” He rubbed his eyes. “Okay. We have got to find at least one more act. Can you get in touch with Fury? I know we’ve talked to him repeatedly, but check in again. And ask around the team. Someone has to know something. And in the meantime, I’ll go talk to Peter and make sure he knows that if he’s not ready to train or to perform, he doesn’t have to.”

Pepper nodded. “Okay. That’s good. But maybe it’d be better if I go talk to him? You can be a bit…” she paused and looked at him. “Hmmm. Loud?”

Tony laughed. “What can I say. It’s part of my job.”

“And a major part of your personality to be loud and to push. I think in this case we need someone a little more quiet and subtle.” She raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I think that might be. He is a bit…”

“Timid?” Pepper suggested.

“I was going to say shit scared, but yeah. Let’s go with that.” Tony laughed.


	11. Wade

It hadn’t taken long for Wade and Peter to develop a routine. First thing in the morning, they tackled the stable, spot cleaning and putting out the feed and water. Then they headed over to breakfast. 

Today’s breakfast was eggs and pancakes, Wade was happy to see as they got in line. Wade glanced over at Peter, who seemed sleepy, but relaxed. Xavier was, as always, pressed close to his side, waving his tail happily as he trotted along. Colossus was sitting next to the table where they usually ate. He was a bit too big to stand in line. Wade took a deep breath and decided it was time to push Peter’s limits a bit and get him used to a few more people. He spotted Clint across the tent, eating with one hand and petting his dog with the other. He was sitting across from Bucky, who was not very talkative in the morning. The rest of the table was empty. That would work.

Wade caught Clint’s eye, then angled his body away from Peter, and signed quickly to the man. Clint nodded. Wade turned back to take his plate from the server, seeing that Clint was talking to Bucky. Okay. Now he just had to convince Peter.

“Hey, baby boy.” Wade kept his voice quiet, but Peter immediately looked at him. “I thought we could eat with Clint and Bucky today. They might have some ideas for us about the act. But…” He hesitated. “Well, Bucky doesn’t like to talk much in the morning. He’s really not a morning person.”

Peter’s shoulders tensed up, and Xavier was looking between the two of them anxiously. 

“And hey,” Wade continued cheerfully. “Clint is an expert at signing. He can help you out a lot with that.”

Peter nodded hesitantly. 

“Great.” Wade said. “Let's go then.” He led the way and sat next to Clint. “Peter, why don’t you sit next to Bucky, that way you can see us sign. Learn a little.”

Peter looked at Bucky, who was glaring at his plate. Xavier jumped onto the bench next to Bucky, who reached down absentmindedly and stroked the dog’s head. Peter put his plate down and sat gingerly next to Xavier, who immediately sat down on the bench.

Wade grinned and mentally promised the dog a lifetime of treats for all the help he was providing. “Peter, this is Clint.” He signed and pointed at Clint. “And that’s Bucky.” 

Clint looked at Peter and signed *Are you deaf?*

Peter looked at him blankly, then looked at Wade.

Wade smiled. “No, he’s not deaf. But he is mute. So I’m helping him learn sign language so he can communicate.”

Clint nodded. “Good idea.” He looked at Peter. “Okay if I talk and sign?”

Peter nodded, then signed *please*

“He just started, so he only knows a few words, but he’ll learn faster if we all do both.”

Bucky grunted. *Hello Peter. Too early to talk.*

Wade and Clint laughed, but Peter looked blank. He signed *my name what?*

Clint repeated the signs and said, “He said hello Peter, it’s too early to talk. Buck is not a morning person. He sometimes doesn’t say anything before lunch.”

Peter smiled and signed to Bucky *hello I don’t talk.*

Bucky grunted again *good*.

Peter laughed and grinned at Wade.

Wade relaxed. It was going pretty well. Now if he could just know what had happened to Peter, he could do a better job of avoiding triggers. He sighed. But even if Peter could talk about it, he wasn’t sure asking him questions about what had happened was a good approach. 

He turned to Clint and explained about the act they were trying to put together. Clint promised to swing by and watch and help them out later on.

“Hello boys.” Pepper’s voice came from behind him. Peter’s body immediately went stiff, and Xavier straightened up. Bucky looked over at the boy curiously, then glanced at Wade. Wade shook his head slightly, and Bucky went back to eating. 

Wade kept his voice calm. “Hi Pepper. Peter, this is Pepper. She’s Tony’s assistant.”

Clint laughed. “Assistant, don’t be fooled. Pepper is the one that really runs this place. Tony’s just the guy in the fancy hat.” 

Tony’s voice came from one of the other tables. “Hey! I heard that!”

Wade laughed. “Can you deny it?”

Tony snorted. “No. But it is an awesome hat.”

Pepper smiled at Peter. “They make me sound so scary. I’m really not.”

Clint grinned at Peter. “She’s not. She’s really nice. But it is true that she runs everything here.”

Pepper nodded. “And that’s why I’m here.” She looked at Peter earnestly. “I take care of my crew, and you’re part of my crew. I just want you to know that if you’re not ready to perform, you don’t have to perform. You’re doing more than enough to pay your way just by helping with the animals. I don’t want you to do anything you’re not ready for. And if anyone is pushing you,” Pepper glared at Wade, “you tell me and I’ll make them stop.”

Peter shook his head and smiled. Then he pulled his notebook out and scribbled quickly before handing it to Pepper. She glanced at his note, then smiled and handed it back. “Well, you let me know if that changes at any point, okay? We’re family, and we’re all there for each other. Okay?”

Peter nodded. He still looked a little stiff, but Wade thought this time it was because he was self-conscious, not scared. He glanced at Xavier, who was back to sitting and looking around.

Pepper walked off. Wade could see Peter was watching her as she walked through the tent, saying hello to other crew members or asking questions, stopping by with at least a few words for everyone in the tent. She even stopped by and patted Colossus.

Wade glanced at Bucky, who was staring at him. *What happened to him* Bucky signed.

Wade shrugged. *no chance to ask. Plus, he can’t easily explain.*

Bucky nodded. *Something bad. Kid’s terrified.*

Wade nodded back. *Panic attacks. Nightmares. Dog helps.* 

Bucky glanced at Peter, who was petting Xavier and eating, while looking around the tent. He was relaxed, and seemed fine looking around at everyone. *You need help, you tell me.*

*Thanks.*

Wade clapped his hands. “Okay, baby boy. You done? We’ve got places to go, people to see, things to do.”

Peter smiled at him and nodded. 

“Okay. We need to change and go figure out our act. And we need to talk to the roustabouts about your equipment. Where do you think we should start?”

Peter shrugged.

“Alright. Then let’s check the schedule and see when we’re needed in the ring, then you get your work clothes on, and I’ll try on my costume, see if it needs any work.” Wade stood up and picked up his empty plate. “Ready baby boy?”

Peter stood up and followed him, Xavier following along behind. Wade grinned, and they headed over to check the schedule.


	12. Peter

Peter followed Wade back to his trailer. His mind was racing. Surprisingly, Pepper’s insistence that he didn’t need to perform had made him more determined to go through with the act. It reassured him they saw him as a person, not a source of income. He knew he was too sensitive; since Hydra he was too used to being used, for money, for labor, and later for… He shook his head. No point in thinking about that. He was in a better place now, and Wade was a great guy.

“Hey, baby boy.” Wade called over his shoulder. “We’ve got about an hour before our ring time. I was thinking we could get changed, then you could show me someplace with a little more room what you can do. Then we’ll grab my weapons and head over to the ring and work a little on my routine. Clint and Bucky said they’d stop by and help us out. Sound good?”

Peter grinned and nodded. He wasn’t worried about showing Wade what he could do, Wade had been so impressed with what he had seen already. He kind of liked the idea of demonstrating what he could do. 

Wade grinned and opened the trailer door. “Okay, sweet cheeks. Get your duds on and lets get going.”

Peter was used to changing with other people around; it was hard to make the many costume changes required in a circus if you cared about privacy. But that was before. Now, he didn’t want anyone to see his back. Fortunately, Wade was even more self-conscious than he was and always shut himself into the bathroom before changing. Peter guessed it was because of how self-conscious he was about his skin. Either way, it meant he didn’t have to explain his back. He knew he’d have to some day, but the longer he could put it off, the happier he’d be. 

He was just sliding on his shoes when Wade walked out of the bathroom. Peter gasped in amazement. He hadn’t seen Wade’s costume before, and it was…incredible. 

Wade was dressed from head to toe in red leather. Pockets and loops covered the outfit, clearly for holding knives or other weapons. In his hand, Wade held a red hood, with black patches that covered where his eyes would go. 

Wade lifted the hood and showed it to Peter. “It’s a little hot, so I tend to leave it off until needed.”

Peter nodded. He was used to performing in skin tight thin fabric; he wasn’t sure how Wade could perform in so much leather. It had to be unbearably hot. But he had to admit it looked good on the man. It emphasized his muscular build just as much as tights would have, but looked…more dangerous somehow.

“Like it?” Wade stuck his arms out and turned around. “I’m missing my weapons, of course. I keep those locked up, so we’ll get them on the way. Then I’ll really be terrifying.” 

Peter mock applauded then signed *good.*

Wade grinned. “Alright. And I see you’re all ready to go. Let’s grab my weapons and then head over to the ring.”

Wade headed out the door and around to the end of the trailer. Peter followed in time to see him unlock a box built into the end of the trailer and start pulling out knives. Wade clearly knew what he was doing, each knife was removed from its wrapping and slid into specific pockets or loops. Finally, he picked up a pair of blades in crossed sheaths and strapped them to his back.

“Alright. Got my knives. Got my katanas. Just need a few more throwing blades and we’re good to go.” He picked up a rolled fabric case and handed it to Peter. “Since you’re my assistant, you carry these.” 

Peter took the roll and nodded. He thought Wade had been kidding about looking terrifying earlier, but with the blades distributed across his body, and the black wrapped handles of his katanas sticking up from behind his shoulders, Peter shivered. He really looked, maybe not terrifying, but definitely dangerous. If Wade had looked like this when he first met him, he doubted he ever would have ever talked to the man. Though, if he needed any reassurance, Xavier and Colossus were sitting, relaxed, just watching as Wade closed and locked the box.

Peter frowned, remembering the dogs. He touched Wade’s shoulder, and when the man glanced at him, he pointed at the dogs and then back at the trailer.

“The dogs? Oh, no worry, kiddo. They are very well behaved. They know to stay out of the ring while we’re working. And even if they didn’t, my aim is really good.”

Peter nodded. From what he had seen of Xavier, he suspected if he told the dog to sit and stay, he’d be in the same position a week later. He smiled and reached down to pet the poodle, who was pressed up next to his ankle, like usual. The dog looked up at him and wagged his tail.

“Alright. Let’s go.” Wade said, striding off toward the ring barn, Colossus walking along behind. Peter smiled and followed the pair, Xavier close to his heels.

In the ring, Wade stood at the center. “Okay. First off, let’s see what you can do. Dogs, sitting outside of the ring.” He pointed to where Colossus was sitting quietly. 

Peter walked next to Colossus and signaled the poodle to sit, then stepped into the ring.

“Well, come on, show me what you got, Baby boy.” Wade grinned.

Peter thought for a few minutes. He figured the best thing to do was to start out with some flips. But he really should do a little warming up first… He grinned, deciding he could warm up and still make it look interesting.

He leaned forward and put his hands on the floor, then slowly shifted his weight onto his hands and up into a handstand. Then he bent over, lowering his feet to the ground in a backbend before getting back up to his feet. He crossed the ring in a series of cartwheels and walkovers, then crossed back with handsprings. Feeling much looser, he threw in a few somersaults and dive rolls, then ended in front of Wade. 

He tilted his head and thought. Wade was pretty strong. He nodded, then pointed at Wade, and held his own arms out in a T, then pointed back at Wade.

“What, you want me like this?” Wade asked, sticking his arms out.

Peter nodded, flexed his arms, then nodded again.

Wade shrugged, but kept his arms out. 

Peter darted around behind, then ran and jumped onto the man’s shoulders. 

Wade looked up and grinned. “Hey up there.”

Peter looked down and grinned back before rising to his feet, standing on the man’s shoulders. Then he tapped Wade’s upper arm with one foot, and raised his own arms over his head, then pointed at Wade.

“Arms up?” Wade asked, raising his arms and watching Peter. 

Peter nodded, then arranged Wade’s hands palms up. He put his own hands on top of Wade’s and clasped hands. He slowly raised himself into a handstand, balanced on Wade’s hands. Once he felt secure, he lowered his legs into a split and held the position for a few breaths. Then he returned to the full handstand, before slowly lowering his feet back to Wade’s shoulders and standing back up. 

He glanced down at Wade, and lifted his foot up to Wade’s hand, then raised his eyebrows.

Wade laughed. “I can lift you with one hand, baby boy. I doubt you weight as much as Colossus.”

Peter stuck his tongue out at Wade, then placed his foot on Wade’s hand, and slowly shifted his weight to stand there before bringing the other foot next to the first. Wade’s hand was big enough that he could balance on the inside edges of both of them.

“Want to try something?” Wade asked, looking up at Peter. 

Peter shrugged, wondering what Wade had in mind. 

“Let’s see if I can lower you down. You can always jump if you lose balance, right?”

Peter nodded. He could land safely from a lot higher than Wade’s hand.

“Cool. Here we go.” Wade said, then slowly lowered his hand to the side. Peter concentrated on keeping his balance. When Wade’s elbow had reached a right angle, he expected Wade to stop. But the man kept going, slowly straightening his arm. Peter glanced over at Wade, amazed. He clapped silently, then pointed at himself, made a small circle with his finger, then pointed to the ground.

“Go for it.” Wade grinned.

Peter bent his knees, then straightened them, feeling Wade giving him a slight push up as he leaped up, tucked, and landed after performing a tight somersault.

“That is amazing!” Wade said. “You’re fantastic at that.” 

Peter grinned, then pointed at Wade, flexed his own arm, at pointed at Wade.

“Yeah, I am pretty strong. Do a lot of hauling and lifting.” He shrugged. “But I suspect you’re a lot stronger than you look too.” Wade clapped his hands. “But! Enough demonstration. Now we need to work on my act. Prepare to be amazed.”


	13. Tony

“Tony, you wanted me to let you know when Wade was going to be in the ring.” Pepper interrupted Tony.

Tony grinned. “Awesome. I need a break from all this paperwork.” 

Pepper snorted at him. “Of course, Tony. Fifteen minutes of work is clearly too much.”

Tony stood up. “Yes. I’m glad you understand. Now are you going to come with me?”

Pepper looked at the stacks arrayed across the desk. “I really need to get some of this under control.”

“Pepper. Part of our job, in fact _most_ of our job, is making sure that we provide the audience with a breathtaking spectacle. That means we need to be there to provide assistance and guidance when our crew is putting together new acts.” Tony lectured her. 

Pepper smiled. “I guess you’re right. And Wade hasn’t performed in a long time.”

“And Peter can use all the support he can get.” Tony pointed out. “Let's go see how our boys are doing.”

The pair walked over to the ring barn, Pepper busy looking through a notebook filled with lists of things, while Tony tried his best to distract her. He knew she worked too hard and tried to get her to take breaks periodically. He was all too aware that without her, things probably _would_ fall apart.

The two seated themselves in the seats near the end ring where Wade and Peter were working. Or rather, Tony saw, not really working. Wade was teasing Peter, and Peter was teasing Wade right back, jumping on his shoulders, doing handstands when Wade tried to get him to stand in front of the target, making faces when Wade wasn’t looking.

Tony frowned. While he was happy Peter was comfortable enough with Wade to act silly, he really needed those two to be serious. They needed to put together two acts and perfect them in next to no time before they were on the road. “Great. I have to go stop this. We don’t have time for this. I need them to focus.” He grumbled, standing back up.

Pepper grabbed his arm. “Wait. I think this is perfect.”

“What? They’re just goofing around.” Tony said, waving at the ring angrily. 

Pepper shook her head. “No. I think this is better. Wade too focused is terrifying. The audience always reacts hesitantly to him. It’s like having a tiger performing with no cage. They’re always afraid he might just run out of the ring and turn on them. But this, “ She pointed at the two. “Wade’s terrifying, but _Peter’s_ not scared. Peter’s _teasing_ him. And he’s not hurting Peter, so maybe Wade’s not too scary. Maybe they can just relax and enjoy the performance. Just mix the knife throwing leather clad terrifying assassin with the adorable back flipping young man and you have them laughing and gasping in turns.”

Tony looked back at the two in the ring thoughtfully. “Huh. Maybe you’re right. The wow factor is still there, keep the death defying element with knives thrown close to that messy haired head, but throw in some comic relief.”

“And maybe some audience participation.” Pepper said quietly. “Have Peter hide in the audience and get a kid to pretend to be him.”

Tony snorted in disbelief. “No kid is going to want to pretend to be Peter.”

Pepper shook her head. “I think they will. With Peter there, Wade looks like a good guy, some sort of superhero. I think any kid’s gonna be more than willing to pretend. Of course we won’t actually do anything dangerous with the kids out there, just have Wade lead them out to the target. Then Peter will trade back.”

Tony nodded. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go sell it to the boys.” He stood up and waited for Pepper.

******

Tony was relaxing in his own trailer with a glass of whisky after all the evening’s work had been completed. All in all, they were in pretty good shape. Wade’s act was already well lined up. After Pepper had outlined her idea to Wade and Peter, Clint had shown up and seconded the idea. (Not that it was that hard of a sell, Wade was all too aware how terrifying people found him. The idea of actually looking like a superhero really appealed to him.) They had scripted the entire act, and Peter and Wade would spend the next few weeks fleshing it out.

Then Peter and Wade had worked with the roustabouts and engineers on Peter’s act. Fortunately, one of the team had worked on a similar setup in the past and would have everything ready in a few days. Tony still had to introduce Natasha to Peter and convince him she wasn’t terrifying. (Though who was he kidding? She _was_ terrifying.) But her background in ballet would be good for helping Peter choreograph his act.

Tony sighed. He just wished they had a few more acts. It would give them a buffer, let artists take time off, allow for illness, for that matter. But if they didn’t perform, they didn’t eat. He’d keep looking. Someone somewhere would be looking to change to another circus. He knew they had a good reputation, he made sure of that. And if he didn’t, Pepper did.

A knock sounded on the door of his trailer; from the sound of it, it was Thor. The man didn’t do anything halfway. Most people would just tap on a door. Not Thor. He pounded as if he was knocking on the wooden gate of a fortress.

Tony put down his glass and levered himself to his feet. Well, whatever it was, it was better to take care of it tonight than to wait until the morning.

He opened the door to find Thor, as expected, but he was flanked by a woman and three men. 

“Thor!” Tony said. “What’s up?”

“Tony! Good evening to you. You said that you were looking for more acts.”

Tony nodded. He debated inviting the group into his trailer, then quickly realized that he and Thor alone would pretty much fill the place. The others wouldn’t even be able to fit. “Why don’t we go over to the mess tent and get some coffee or something?” Tony asked. “You can introduce me to your friends and tell me what you’re thinking of.”

“Excellent!” Thor boomed and turned, leading the way to the mess tent. The entire crew settled themselves around a table.

Tony grabbed some mugs and a carafe of coffee and joined them.

“Tony, this is Sif, and these are Fandral, Hogan, and Volstagg.” Thor indicated the woman, and each of the three men. “They heard that you were looking for new acts and have come to see if they would fit.”

Tony looked at them, interested. “And what exactly are they offering?”

“Lady Sif is an equestrienne.” Thor announced. “She does, what is it called?” He looked at Sif. “She rides a horse bareback and jumps and flips.” He shrugged. “It is very exciting.”

Tony nodded. “That could work. You have the liberty horses, but horses are always popular, as are beautiful women. I would like to see her act.”

Sif nodded. “I have brought my horses, and we can perform for you tomorrow, if that will work.” 

Tony smiled. “Excellent.” He turned back to Thor. “And the others?”

“Ah yes. The warriors three. They are tumblers.”

The man with the beard (Volstagg?) laughed. “We are not tumblers. We are artists of the martial arts. We demonstrate our skills in fighting.”

The blonde man, who looked like a European fencer (Fandral?) interrupted. “Nay, we are tumblers Volstagg. There is no shame in the title. And Mr. Stark is aware of the skill and training required to perform well.”

Tony nodded. “Your friend is right. If you are good tumblers, there is no shame in that. It requires strength, flexibility, timing, and a great deal of skill. We currently don’t have any tumblers, and they are always very popular. And it’s an exciting, fast-paced act which always gets the audience excited. I would also like to see your act.”

The last member of the Warriors Three (Hogan?) spoke up. “We can perform tomorrow. We did not, however, bring our trailer. Do you have a place where we can sleep tonight?” 

Tony smiled. “Yes, if you don’t mind the barracks for tonight.”

Hogan (it was definitely Hogan) smiled and nodded. “That would be fine.”

Tony grinned, feeling incredibly relieved. “Okay! Let me show you to your accommodations. Ms. Sif, do you need anything for your animals?” 

She shook her head. “As long as where my trailer is currently parked is okay, I will simply tie them out on the side of the trailer.”

“Excellent.” Tony said. “Let me get Pepper, and we’ll get you all set up.”

“I will get Pepper.” Thor said. “You stay and talk, and make sure you are all on the same page.” He stood up and clapped two of the men on the shoulders. “It will be good to work with you again.” 


	14. Wade

Wade glanced around at breakfast, trying to decide the best place to sit. He was bound and determined to get Peter comfortable with more and more people. Yesterday had gone well, and he was pretty sure that Peter was comfortable with both Clint and Bucky. But he needed to expand the group of people he wasn’t terrified of.

The only one he saw sitting alone today, though, was Natasha. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure Peter was up for that yet. 

“Hey, Petey, you up for meeting Natasha?” He asked quietly. “It might be good to get to know her, she’d be a good help with you on your act.”

Petey looked at him nervously.

“She’s very intimidating, but it’s just how she talks. She’s had a bad time, worked with some really bad circuses before she made it here. She takes a while to warm up to people, but she’s a great friend.” Wade looked at him seriously. “But we don’t have to, if you’re worried. We can eat wherever you want.”

Peter looked over at Natasha. She was eating quietly and systematically, staring off into the distance. Her dog charge, a Chinese Crested, was sitting on the bench next to her and watching everyone cheerfully. Seeing the ridiculous dog (who Peter knew was actually very intelligent and friendly) sitting so happily next to the dour-looking woman seemed to reassure him. He looked back at Wade and nodded, smiling hesitantly.

Wade smiled, happy that Peter seemed to be willing to take a risk on more people. He led the way over to the table and stopped across from Natasha. “Would you mind if we joined you? I’m trying to get Peter more comfortable with the team before we hit the road.”

Natasha glanced up and looked at Wade and nodded. Then she smiled at Peter and signed while she spoke. “Hello Peter. Clint said that Wade is trying to teach you sign language. Please let me know if anything I sign is confusing and I’ll repeat it.”

Peter looked at Wade, confused. 

Wade just shrugged and took a seat across from Natasha.

Peter sat next to Wade, and Xavier hopped up on the bench next to him.

“I see you took over Xavier.” Natasha said. “I’m glad he found a friend. He’s a great dog, but he really wanted his own person” She looked down at her dog. “This is Wu. Which you probably already know, since you work with Thor and the dogs. She’s named for Wu Zetian, the only female empress of China.” 

Peter smiled and replied *She is very smart.*

Natasha smiled. “That she is. Thor was worried that no one would take her, because she was so funny looking. But she is a wonderful animal.”

Wade grinned. “She is a little unusual looking, but I think she’s beautiful.”

Natasha nodded. “She is. She’s very elegant, and I think she’s really pretty.” She turned and looked directly at Peter. “I heard a little about your act. I saw your parents perform in the past. Your mother used to perform on the silks. I think it’s an excellent choice. A single performer can do it alone, and as long as you are strong enough and flexible enough, it should work well for you.”

Wade snorted. “Well, he’s plenty strong and flexible.” He noticed that Peter ducked his head and turned red at the compliment, grinning to himself. Well, it was true, and it was about time Peter started believing in himself.

“Good. Tony has asked me to work with you to develop your act. I would be very happy to. Please let me know when you are ready, and I will be there.” Natasha picked up her plate and stood up. “Enjoy your breakfast. I look forward to working with you.” The woman strode off, followed closely by the small dog.

Wade glanced at Peter, who was staring after Natasha with a confused look on his face. “Well, congratulations. She likes you.” Wade said.

Peter looked at him, puzzled.

“Oh believe me, she likes you.” Wade said. “If she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t have offered to help you. But remember what I said. She has a hard time opening up. For her, that was a ringing endorsement.”

Peter gave him a small smile, and Wade grinned.

The two finished their breakfast in silence. They were just cleaning up when Pepper stopped them. “Wade, how good is Peter with the longe line?”

Wade shrugged. “He’s been helping me and Thor out with the horses. He’s good with the basics.”

“Great. We need both of you, center ring. Tony is looking at a possible act, and the woman’s horse master is sick. Thor’s right in the middle of working with the farrier, so Tony sent me for you and asked me to bring Peter also if he was any good.”

Wade glanced at Peter. “You okay helping out a possible act?”

Peter shrugged, then nodded.

“Okay. Let us get this put away and…”

Pepper shook her head. “No, you head over. I’ll take care of this. Everyone’s ready to go and you know how Tony gets when he has to wait on anything.”

Wade put his plate back on the table. “Say no more. Let’s go, Petey.” And he darted off towards the ring barn, Peter and the dogs close on his heels.

Center ring was occupied by a woman holding two large horses wearing bareback pads. 

Tony was pacing next to the ring and immediately strode over to the pair. “Excellent! Wade, Peter, this is Sif. Wade, we need you to handle the primary horse. Peter, you’ll be handling the second. Her horse master usually manages both, but he’s sick and can barely stand.”

Wade and Peter made their way over to the woman.

“Hello.” She said, smiling at them. “I'd shake hands but…” 

“No worries.” Wade laughed. “I’m Wade. Tony wants me on your primary horse.”

The woman nodded, and handed him the line for a horse, a large dappled gray. “This is Tåke. He’s my lead horse.”

Wade nodded, taking the line. “This is Peter. He’ll be handling your other horse.”

The woman handed the other horse, a bay. “This is Skumring.”

Peter signed *thank you* and took the line from her. 

She glanced at Wade questioningly. 

Wade smiled. “He can’t talk. He can hear, and he’s excellent with animals. He’s been working with Thor on the Liberty Horses, as well as his dogs.”

The woman nodded, reassured. “Well, quiet is fine. Now, the horses are used to working together, and are used to performing. I just need you to keep them steady and even. We will start out with them about a horse length apart. I will start on Tåke. Then, I will give you a signal when I am ready for the second part,” She glanced at Peter to make sure he was looking, and then demonstrated the signal. “At that point you will bring Skumring up to Tåke. His front haunches should be even with Tåke’s tail. He knows the spot. I will then perform the second portion of the act.”

Peter nodded, indicating that he understood and was ready. 

The woman lightly mounted the gray and set it circling the ring at a steady trot. “This is the pace.” She said, then waited until Wade and Peter were in position, the two horses now circling the ring at a steady pace. Then she got to her feet on the horse’s back and began her act.

Wade wasn’t able to see much of her act; he was too busy making sure that the pace was steady, and that Peter was doing okay. But she was incredibly athletic, doing flips and balances on the lead horse, jumping into the air, and in the last portion performing leaps and flips from horse to horse. The horses seemed to take the entire act in stride, continuing their steady rhythmic pace around and around.

For the finale, the woman flipped from the front horse to the back horse, then somersaulted off his back and to the ground.

Wade brought the horse in to the center and patted it on the neck. “Good boy, excellent work.” He murmured, glancing over to see Peter giving the other horse several pats in reward.

He saw Tony had been joined by several other of the artists, and they all broke into applause as the woman bowed to them.

“Impressive.” Tony said, looking around at the team. “I normally would want to get feedback from Thor, but as he brought you to us, I already know his opinion. Would you be willing to join us?”

The woman glanced over at Wade and Peter, making a fuss over her horses. “If this is the way your crew treats your artists and your animals, I think we would be very happy here.”

Tony laughed. “The animals are part of the family. If you’re here long, Thor will probably assign you your own dog. He's constantly adding more.”

The woman laughed. “That does sound like him. I’ve known him for years and he’s always been surrounded by animals.”

Tony grinned. “And he still is. So. I still need to see the tumblers, but if their act is anything like yours, I think we’ll have a full show for opening.”

The woman smiled and shook Tony’s hand. “I will take care of these two and will be ready to talk details when you are done.”

“You’re not going to stay and watch?” Tony asked.

The woman snorted. “I’ve seen those three hooligans throwing each other around more times than I care to. Enjoy the show and let me know when you would like to talk.”

She moved to take the lines from Wade and Peter.

“We can help, if you would like some help. As it sounds like you’ll be joining us, we might as well get to know these two.” Wade said, and Peter nodded.

The woman smiled. “I would appreciate the help.”

“Are these two okay with dogs?” Wade asked.

The woman nodded. “Yes, they’re used to dogs, cats, children, chickens, you name it.” She headed out of the ring, and the men led the horses, following her. They each signaled their dogs, and the dogs immediately joined them.

The woman laughed. “I see why you asked about the dogs. But are you sure that is a dog?” She asked, pointing at Colossus.

Wade laughed. “He is, but compared to Xavier there,” he indicated the poodle, “he does look more like a bear.”

The woman smiled. “He’s almost big enough to ride.”


End file.
